An Unforgotten Love
by 1cenaLifetime
Summary: It's been 4 years since she's seen him and 2 years since he's seen her. They both thought they lost each other. What happens when they meet again after all this time and the feelings are still there,but one of them is bound to another? Lucas&Peyton.
1. Falling into Darkness Pt1

It's been 4 years since she's seen him and 2 years since he's seen her. They both thought they lost each other. What happens when they meet again after all this time and the feelings are still there,  
but one of them is bound to another? Lucas&Peyton. Little Naley and Bake. Future fic. 

Ok sooo...this isn't my first fic but it is my first chaptered fic so please, go easy on me. This is a future fic for the most part. It takes place after graduation. Not right after but it starts out in the summer. I like to think of chapters 1-5 as Prologue chapters. They could be summarized into a prologue but the purpose of me writing it so long and in chapters was to show the emotions of mainly Peyton and Lucas and to show how the characters got to where they end up and how they met the new characters (yes, there will be some new people, but they won't really be major characters. Well...maybe one but that one isn't all that major...you'll see.lol). N e wayz...my point is that the real story doesn't start until chapter 6. That's when things will be constant and pretty interesting. Still, chapters 1-5 are also going to be interesting but they are mainly to show you what happened that caused the characters to be where they end up by chapter 6. Does that make sense?lol. If not then, if you keep reading,you'll understand.Once chapter 4 starts the story starts to jump ahead some time and will continually do that until the begining of chapter 6 where the real story begins.Now just because the main story starts with chapter 6 doesn't mean you don't have to/you shouldn't read chapters 1-5. Those chapters are kind of key for the others. Ok so now that the long description of the story is over, let's get to the story. lol. I hope y'all enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill which, though it's a good show, is a good thing because I'd be Mark. -shudders at the thought- Yea, good thing. lol.

**July 26, 2006**

Lucas sat at his computer typing an email to Haley and Nathan. They went to Duke University for a week to get the housing arrangements taken care of. They also wanted to get familiar with the place. They were expected to be home tomorrow evening.

Lucas finished the email and sent it. He then looked at the clock. 7:30. He had a date with Peyton tonight and he was running a little late. He got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. When he got out, he went to the closet and got out his blue suit. He wanted to look his best tonight. He was planning on giving Peyton a promise ring, and he wanted everything to be special and go smoothly.

He got dressed and went back over to his computer. He turned it off, grabbed his car keys and went to go pick up Peyton.

When he got to Peyton's house he got out of the car and walked up the walkway. He rang the doorbell and to his surprise, Larry answered.

"Rakeboy"

"Mr. Sawyer? What are you doing here?" Lucas asked.

"I live here." Larry answered, smirking.

"I know. I meant, what are you doing back? I thought you were going to be gone for another week."

"I was, but I decided to come home early. I missed my little girl."

"Well she missed you too sir."

"So, what brings you here Rakeboy?"

Lucas laughed a little before responding.

"I'm never going to live that one down am I?"

"Oh I'm afraid not." Larry said as he laughed a little as well.

"Well, I'm here to pick up Peyton."

"Aha. I see. You've got a date tonight I take it?"

"Yes sir. What gave it away?" Lucas said sarcastically with a small smile.

"Wild guess." Larry said, laughing a little as he looked at Lucas's outfit.

Larry looked Lucas in the eyes and put a hand on his shoulder before saying…

"You really care about her, don't you boy?"

"Yes sir I do. I love her. With all of my heart." Larry smiled at this.

"Good. Take care of her, cause if you hurt her, I'll hurt you."

"I won't hurt her sir. I promise."

"Good." Larry said. "Now what's with this sir business? I think you've known me long enough to step up. Call me Larry."

"Ok sir…I mean, Larry." Lucas said as he smiled. Larry laughed a little and said "That's better"

"Oh, where are my manners? Would you like to come in?"

Before Lucas could respond, Peyton came up behind her dad.

"Hey Luke. I thought that was you."

"Yup. It's me. You uh…you ready to go?" He questioned, a slight look of confusion on his face due to her outfit.

"Actually, I was thinking maybe we could cancel tonight? It's just that my dad is here and…"

"And you want to spend as much time as you can with him before we go away to college. I understand. It's ok." Lucas said, cutting Peyton off.

"Oh you don't have to do that for me." Larry said. "Go. Have fun. Not too much though."

"No, it's ok Mr. Sawyer. I understand. We'll be leaving for college in just a few weeks and with you out to sea a lot there won't be many chances for you to see each other so, Peyt, stay. We'll hang out tomorrow." Lucas said.

"You sure?" Larry asked.

"Yea. I'll call you tomorrow Peyt."

"Ok." Peyton gave Lucas a hug and whispered in his ear "Thank you. I'll make it up to you. I promise." They pulled apart and Peyton winked at him and then gave him a peck on the lips.

"'Night Peyt. 'Night Mr. Sawyer…I mean, Larry."

"'Night Lucas."

"'Night Rakeboy." With that, Lucas turned around and walked back to his car.

Lucas drove to his mom's café. When he went in he walked up to his mom, who was behind the counter.

"Hey Mom."

"Hey sweetie. I thought you had a date with Peyton tonight?"

" I did, but her dad came home early and she wanted to spend some time with him and I, being the understanding boyfriend I am, told her it was ok if we cancelled." He said as he sat at one of the stools.

"Oh, I'm sorry Luke. I know this was kind of a big night for you." Karen said, putting a hand over Lucas'.

"Eh, No big deal. I'll wait. I've waited this long I don't think one more day will kill me." Lucas said, smiling. "Hey, why don't you go home? You shouldn't be on your feet too long."

"Lucas, I can take care of myself. Besides, I did this when I was pregnant with you too. I'll be fine."

"I know you can and I know you will but I'd feel better if you went home. I can take care of the place for two hours. It's not that full. Come on, just go home and rest. Please. For me?" Lucas said, showing her his puppy dog eyes and pout lips so she would give in. It worked.

"Fine. I'll go. Who knew that look would still work at age 18." Karen said, smiling as she undid her apron. Lucas laughed a little at her comment.

"Yea well, what can I say? When you got it, you got it. It just doesn't go away." He said, smiling.

"Uh huh. Don't forget to clean all of the tables and lock up."

"Don't forget to call me when you get home."

"You know, I'm the mother. I'm the one who should be saying that." Karen said as she walked towards the door. She stopped right in front of it and turned around.

"Yea well your pregnant so now I've got to keep a look out for you and my little sister." Lucas said. He smiled at his mother and she smiled back.

"Goodnight Lucas."

"Goodnight Mom."

Lucas watched his mother leave the café and get into her car. Once he saw her drive away, he went behind the counter and started wiping it down. About ten minutes later his mother called telling him she got home ok.

When 10:00 pm came, Lucas locked up the café and cleaned all the tables and dishes. Once the place was cleaned, he turned off the lights and went outside to lock the front door and leave.

After he locked up, he got into his car and started driving home. He decided to listen to music so he turned the radio on. Maybe Tomorrow by Stereophonics was playing. He turned the volume all the way up and began singing. A picture of him and Peyton fell and he and he reached down to pick it up. He couldn't feel it so he looked around the roads to make sure no cars were coming. Then, he looked down to find the picture. His eyes were only off the road for a few seconds, but it was a few seconds too long. When he looked up, the only thing he saw was the blinding white lights from the headlights of the other car. Then, the next thing he knew, he was being engulfed by darkness.

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What do you think? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between? Thx for reading and please review!! I would like to know what you all think..


	2. Falling into Darkness Pt2

_Thank you to all of the people who reviewed. I wasn't sure if anyone would like this story or not so to see that it's getting reviews makes me want to write more and, lets me know that I'm doing a good job so far. I hope you all continue to review and enjoy the fic!1 Thx again!!_

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_Ring, ring _

_Ring, ring_

Peyton stirred in bed before waking up due to her phone ringing. _'Ugh. Who could that be?'_ she thought. She looked at the time and noticed it was 12:00 am. She sighed before getting up and walking over to the phone.

"Hello" She answered.

"Peyton. It's Karen. Lucas got into an accident."

Peyton froze when she heard this. She couldn't move or speak for a few seconds. She tried to say something but no words would come out.

"Peyton? Are you ok?"

"Yes" She finally managed to say in a whisper. Then, she took a deep breath and asked "How is he?"

"He's in surgery. He's been in surgery for the past hour." Karen said, fear and worry apparent in her voice.

"I'm on my way." Peyton said. Before Karen could respond, Peyton had already hung up.

She put on her sneakers, not even bothering to change out of her pajamas. She grabbed her car keys and started to leave when her father appeared at her door.

"What's going on? Where are you going?" He asked.

"Hospital. Lucas was in an accident." She said, walking past him.

"Is he ok?" Larry asked, following her into the hallway and down the stairs.

"I don't know."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"If you want to come then you can. I don't care, but right now I really have to go see how he's doing." She said as she opened the front door. She walked out of the house and went to her car. She got in and proceeded to the hospital.

When she got to the hospital, she went into the emergency room and looked for Karen. She saw her sitting in a chair with her hands together on her lap and her head down. Peyton walked over to her. "Karen" she said. Karen looked up and saw it was Peyton. Peyton could tell by the red in her eyes that she'd been crying. Karen stood up and the two fell into a tight embrace. When they pulled apart, Peyton began asking questions about Lucas.

"How is he? Did they tell you anything? Is he still in surgery? Ca…"

"Peyton calm down." Karen said, cutting Peyton off.

"He's still in surgery. They said it would probably take a while."

"What happened?" Peyton asked.

"The police said he was hit head on by a drunk driver. The guy that hit him didn't make it. He was DOA."

"Is his family here?"

"I don't think so. The police did notify them though."

"I can't believe this is happening."

"Me either." Karen said. She looked down towards the floors and wiped her eyes. This didn't go unnoticed by Peyton.

"Are you ok Karen?"

"Yes, I'm…I'm fine I just…I can't lose him. I already lost one person I love…I can't lose another. Especially my son." Karen said, tears welling in her eyes once again.

Peyton pulled Karen into another hug. When they broke apart, Peyton spoke to Karen. "He's going to be fine." She said. "Luke's strong. He'll get through this."

Karen nodded her had and hugged Peyton again. When they broke the hug, Karen sat down. Before Peyton sat down she whispered to no one in particular "At least I hope he will." Then, she sat down next to Karen hoping things would turn out ok.

2 Hours later, the surgeon who was operating on Lucas came out. "Who's here for Lucas Scott?" He asked. Both Peyton and Karen stood up. "We are." They said in unison.

The doctor walked over to them.

"How is he? How's my son?" Karen asked.

"He's…in stable condition. At least, as stable as he can be." The doctor answered. "He's got a few broken ribs, his left arm and right leg are both broke. His left lung collapsed but we were able to repair it. One of his kidneys was punctured causing it to fail. We had to remove it but luckily his other kidney is functioning properly so he doesn't need a transplant but uh…there was a complication."

"What?"

"Your son's liver was punctured and it caused some internal bleeding. That caused his heart rate to drop. He flat-lined for a few seconds, but we were able to get his heart rate back up. Still, he lost a lot of blood and he also suffered some severe head trauma."

"What does that mean?" Karen asked.

"It means…Mrs. Scott…"

"Roe, it's Roe. I'm, I'm not married"

"Well, Miss. Roe, your son is in a coma. The blood loss along with the head trauma affected your son's brain. With the extent of his injuries and the amount of blood loss, it doesn't look good for him. We've done all we could do and for now, he's as stable as he's going to get. We won't know what the effects of the brain damage are unless he wakes up and right now, we can't tell if he will or won't. It is possible but it's also possible that he won't wake up. I'm terribly sorry Miss. Roe." With that, the doctor left to give the girls their privacy.

Karen slowly sat in the chair behind her. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Lucas, her son, her pride and joy, was in a coma and was not expected to wake up.

Peyton looked down as the tears began to fall. She closed her eyes trying to make this all go away. She wanted so desperately to wake up from this nightmare. _'How could this happen?'_ she thought. _'Everything was going right and now this.'_ She opened her eyes and looked over at Karen. She saw that Karen was sobbing so she sat in the seat next to her and put her hand behind her back. Karen looked to Peyton and gave her a hug as they both cried even more. The two women cried in each other's arms for the boy that they loved.

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_**Hmmm...will he wake up? Can Peyton handle him in a coma? What's going to happen? Keep reading and you'll find out. Chapter three will be longer than this one, trust me. Please Review!!**_


	3. Holding onto Hope

While Karen went to Lucas' room, Peyton sat in the lobby waiting for Brooke. She had called her a few minutes ago telling her about the accident. As Peyton sat in the chair she thought about how everything was fine just a few months ago. After the accident everything seemed to be going so well. She had been afraid of losing him then but he woke up. She didn't understand why exactly he was given back to her just to be taken away months later.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice calling her name. "Peyton!" She looked up and saw Brooke coming towards her. She stood up and walked towards Brooke. When they were right in front of each other, Brooke pulled Peyton in for a hug. When they broke apart they walked over to the chairs and sat down.

"How is he?" Brooke asked.

"He's in a coma."

"Oh my god." Brooke said, barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes as a single tear fell down her face. With her eyes still closed, she asked "Is he uh…is he…he's going to be ok, right?" When she didn't get an answer she opened her eyes and looked at Peyton "He's going to wake up, isn't he?" She asked, hanging on to any piece of hope there was.

"The doctors um…they don't think he's going to make it." Peyton said as more tears began to fall.

Brooke couldn't believe it. 'How could this happen?' she thought. Tears were now falling freely from her eyes. She looked at Peyton and saw that she was quietly sobbing. She took her into her arms and they both cried.

After what seemed like hours of crying the girls pulled themselves together before going to Lucas' room. Once they got to the room, Brooke slowly opened the door. They walked in the room and Karen looked up to see who was coming in. When she saw it was Brooke and Peyton she sadly smiled at them. Peyton didn't notice this because she couldn't take her eyes off of Lucas. He had bruises and cuts all over his face. He didn't look like the Lucas she knew. She couldn't stand it anymore. She turned around and ran out of the room. Brooke ran after her calling her name. Peyton stopped once she got outside of the hospital. Brooke caught up to her once she stopped. They both stood outside trying to catch theirs breaths before either of them said anything. Brooke was the first to speak.

"Peyton what was that about? Why'd you run out?" She asked.

"I couldn't be in there Brooke. I couldn't see him like that."

"Peyton, I know it's hard but you have to go back up there. Karen needs you and so does Lucas."

"I'm not much help to Karen. I'm as messed up as she is. I don't see how I can be any help to Lucas. I'm not a doctor and I don't know any way to get him out of that coma."

"Peyton you can help them. All you've got to do is be there for them. That means more than anything. Just be there." Brooke said.

"I guess…Ok, I'll try…but don't say I didn't warn you." Peyton said. Both girls laughed lightly at the comment.

"I won't. Alright P. Sawyer. Let's get you back up there." Brooke said, putting an arm around Peyton's shoulders. They both smiled at each other as they walked back to Lucas' room. Before going into the room Peyton remembered that she forgot to call Nathan and Haley.

"Brooke, can you do me a favor?"

"Yea, sure. What do you need?"

"Can you call Nathan and Haley. I forgot to call them and tell them about the accident."

"Sure thing P. Now get in there." Brooke said, giving Peyton a small smile, which Peyton then returned.

Peyton opened the door and went in the room. Brooke stood outside of the door and looked through the window as Peyton made her way to the seat beside Karen. The two women exchanged small, sad smiles and then Peyton took Lucas' hand in hers. Then, both girls sat in silence.

Brooke turned around and grabbed her cell phone. She took a deep breath before dialing the familiar number of Haley James Scott.

Haley heard her phone ringing and groaned as she tried to get up. Nathan, who was also awoken by the ringing of the phone, noticed her struggling to get up and told her he'd get the phone. He got up and walked to the dresser where her phone was and answered it.

"Hello" He answered in a groggy voice.

"Nathan it's Brooke."

"Brooke? It's 3:30 in the morning. Why are you calling so early?"

"It's Lucas. He got into an accident." All the sleep that was plaguing Nathan a minute ago diminished once he heard this.

"What?!" He asked, his voice cracking, which caused Haley to look over at him. It was dark but she could see the tears welling in his eyes as he continued to listen to Brooke.

"Nathan what's wrong?" She asked. When he didn't say anything she pulled herself out of bed and waddled towards Nathan and asked him again "What's wrong Nathan?" He remained quiet.

On the other end of the phone, Brooke was telling Nathan what happened. "I said Lucas got into an accident. He's not doing so well. He's in a coma Nathan. The doctors say he might not wake up. Both Karen and Peyton are a mess. It's bad Nathan. It's really bad."

"We'll be there as soon as we can." Nathan said. Then, he hung up the phone and turned to Haley.

"Nathan what's going on? What did Brooke want?" She asked.

"We have to go." Was all he said as he walked to the lamp and turned it on. Then he looked under the bed and grabbed the suitcase. He put the suitcase on the bed and opened it. He walked back over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. He took an arm full of clothes out and began packing the suitcase.

Haley had been watching the whole time wondering what it was that had him acting like this. Finally, when she saw a tear escape Nathan's eyes, she stopped him to find out what was going on.

"Ok that's it. Nathan, baby, what's going on? What did Brooke say?"

"We have to go."

" No. Nathan, look at me." She said as she put her hands on his face and turned his head towards her. They were now looking into each other's eyes and she asked again "What is going on?"

Nathan looked down at her very pregnant stomach and then looked back up into her eyes. "You better sit down." He said. He led her to the bed and they both sat down. She looked at him expectantly as he tried to find the words to tell her. Then, he looked into her eyes and said "Lucas has been in an accident."

"What?! Is he, is he alright?" Haley asked as fear set in.

"He uh…he's in coma Hales. Brooke said it doesn't look good."

Haley just sat there taking in what she was just told. Lucas, her best friend, the one person who was always there for her, was in a coma.

She didn't realize that she was crying until she felt Nathan's hand on her cheek wiping the fallen tears away.

"We have to go." She said as she stood up.

"I know." Nathan said, standing up as well. The two then finished packing. When they were done, they checked out of the hotel and went to the airport. They exchanged their tickets for an earlier flight and an hour later, they were on their way back to Tree Hill.

**Back at Tree Hill Memorial**

Brooke hung up the phone and walked back over to Lucas' room. She opened the door and walked in. Peyton and Karen both looked up to see who came in. They saw it was Brooke and they both gave her a sad smile, which she returned.

"I called Nathan and Haley. They'll be here as soon as they can." She told them. Karen just nodded her head and drew her attention back to Lucas. Peyton got up and gave Brooke a hug. When the hug broke, Brooke spoke.

"I think I'm gonna go." She said.

"What? You just got here. Don't you wanna stay for awhile?" Peyton asked.

"No. I'll just come back later. I'm not much help here anyways. I'll probably just end up breaking down and that's not what you or Karen or even Lucas for that matter needs right now so…I'll go. I'll be back a little later though. I promise."

"Ok." Peyton said. She gave her one last hug and then Brooke left.

Peyton watched as Brooke left the room. Once she was gone, Peyton turned around, walked back to the chair, and sat down.

After about an hour passed in silence, there was a knock at the door. Both Peyton and Karen looked up to see who it was. It was Larry.

"Dad." Peyton said.

" Hi honey. Karen, I'm so sorry." Larry said as he walked over to the girls.

Both Karen and Peyton stood up as Larry approached them. When Larry walked up to Karen he gave her a hug. "Thank you but it's not your fault." She said as she hugged him back. They broke the hug and Larry turned to his daughter. He gave her a hug and she hugged him back. When they parted, Larry suggested they go get a cup of coffee. Peyton agreed and asked Karen if she wanted anything. Karen politely declined and then Peyton and Larry left to go to the cafeteria. The walk to the cafeteria was a quiet one. Neither Larry nor Peyton spoke a word. However, when they were on their way back to the room Larry stopped Peyton so they could talk.

"Peyton wait. Come on. Let's sit down." He said, pointing to the chairs on his left. They sat in the chairs and put the coffees on the floor.

"Peyton, sweetie. Talk to me." Larry pleaded.

"What is there to talk about? Lucas is in a coma and it's not likely that he'll wake up. There's not much to say after that. God, this is all my fault." She said as tears were stinging the back of her eyes.

"No honey. It's not your fault. Why would you even think that?"

"Because it is! If I wouldn't have cancelled our date then he wouldn't have been in that accident. He would've been taking me home at that time or…or we'd still be out. Either way he wouldn't have gotten into the accident." She said as her tears were falling freely.

"That is not true and you know it. If you hadn't have cancelled then it might've been the both of you lying in this hospital right now instead of just Lucas. I wouldn't want that and neither would Lucas." Larry said. Peyton looked down and closed her eyes as, in a whisper, she said "I can't lose him."

"You won't honey. You have to believe that he's gonna be ok."

"How can I believe that when the doctors are saying…"

"Don't listen to what the doctors are saying." Larry cut in. "Just…have faith. Believe that he's going to be okay. Don't give up on him Peyton."

Peyton looked up at her dad, who gave her a sad smile. She returned it and gave him a hug. Once the hug broke, she spoke. "Thank you daddy."

"No problem sweetie." Larry said, smiling at his daughter.

**MEANWHILE…**

Karen was sitting alone in Lucas' room when she heard a knock. She looked up to see who it was and saw a young man around Lucas' age that she didn't recognize coming in.

"Hi. Are you Karen Roe?" He asked.

"Yes I am. Who are you?" She asked as she got up and walked towards him.

"My name's Johnathan. Johnathan Wright. I'm the brother of the uh…of the…of…"

"Of the boy that was driving the other car." Karen cut in.

"Yea. Look, I'm sorry about just coming in here like this. I know I'm probably the last person you want to see but, my father really wanted me to come by, and I wanted to come too, and apologize for whatever pain my brother has cost you. "

"Well thank you. I know this must've took a lot of courage."

"Yea. It did. Mostly because I wasn't sure if you'd yell at me or kick me out."

"Why would I do that? You didn't do anything wrong. Besides, you just lost your brother. I know that must be hard for you."

"It is but, the thing is, my brother wasn't the best kid. He was mean and he liked to hang out with the wrong people. Those people are the ones who invited him to Tree Hill for some party tonight. We're from Raleigh originally. Anyways, he went even though my father told him not to and he ended up getting drunk. He shouldn't have been driving. He should've been more responsible. Don't get me wrong, he was, is…I mean, I know he's…he's uh…he's dead but uh…he'll always be my brother and I'll always love him but he should've been more careful. Anyways, there's a reason I came here besides to apologize." John said.

"What's that?"

"My parents and I feel really bad about the whole thing and we want to make it up to you so, we would like to offer to pay for Lucas' hospital stay. Also, since my brother was drinking under age and driving without a license, it was revoked, we feel as though we owe you and your son for pain and suffering. We'd be happy to pay you any amount of money you'd like. It's the least we can do." John said. Karen looked at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe what he had just said. Yes it was a very nice thing to do but she couldn't accept it. It wouldn't help wake Lucas up and that's all she wants right now.

"I can't accept that." She said.

"I figured you'd say that. Look, I know that no matter how much money we give you it won't help wake your son up but, please, take our offer. It's all we can do to make up for my brother's mistake. "

"I'm sorry but I can't. All I want is for my son to wake up. Though that's a great offer I just can't accept it."

"Well, I respect your decision. At least let us pay for his hospital bills. Please?"

Karen thought for a second and decided she should let them. With the baby coming she needed all the money she had.

"Ok but, may I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why exactly are you doing this? You just lost your brother and your offering to pay for my son's hospital bills. It's kind of odd." Karen said.

"Well it's really simple. Your son wouldn't be in here if it wasn't for my brother. My brother's done a lot of bad things in the past but this is definitely the worse. We're just trying to make up for it as much as we can."

"Oh."

"Look, I know you said that you didn't want any money from us but uh, I'm going to put some aside for you anyways. You might change your mind and if you don't, your son might want it."

"Well, if that's what you want to do then go ahead but I don't thing that I'll be changing my mind. As for my son, if…if he wakes up and wants it then, he can have it." Karen said.

"Don't say if. He will. He looks like a strong guy. How old is he?"

"18."

"So am I."

"How old was your brother?"

"16."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be apologizing. There's nothing for you to apologize for. Anyways, I have to go now but, do you think I can come by every now and then? To see how he's doing."

"Sure. That would be fine." Karen said. John then thanked Karen and said goodbye. Then, he turned around and walked out of the room.

As Larry and Peyton were walking back to Lucas' room, they saw a young man coming out of it. He walked past them and neither of them recognized him. When they walked into the room they saw Karen standing next to Lucas' bed.

"Hey." Peyton said. Karen looked up and slightly smiled at the two. "Hey."

"Who was that boy that just left?" Larry asked.

"The brother of the boy that hit Lucas." Karen said.

"Oh Karen. That must've been hard for you. Wait…brother of the boy? How old was the guy that hit Lucas? That guy that just left looked as though he was mine and Lucas' age." Peyton said.

"16. The boy that hit Lucas was 16 and the boy that just left is 18." Karen said.

"Oh." Peyton said.

"What'd he want?" Asked Larry.

"To apologize on his brother's behalf and to offer to pay Lucas' hospital bills. I accepted."

"Well that was awfully nice of him." Larry said.

"Yea it was. His parents sent him to ask. It was probably too hard for them to come themselves." Karen said as she sat down in one of the chairs.

"Here Karen. I got you this." Peyton said, handing a cup of coffee to Karen. "I know you said you didn't want one but I figured you could use one."

"Thank you." Karen said. Then she took a sip of the coffee. Peyton and Larry sat down in the other chairs by Lucas' bed and the 3 sat down in silence. After an hour passed Larry told the girls that he had to go. He said goodbye to both girls and then left. The two women were left alone in the room for another hour and a half in silence until they heard a knock on the door. They looked up to see Nathan and Haley walking in. When Haley saw Lucas, tears immediately stung the back of her eyes. Then, the vision of Lucas began to get blurry as the tears started to fall. She felt a pair of arms around her and noticed that it was Peyton. She hugged her back as her tears were falling freely. When the hug broke she looked over at Nathan and saw that his eyes were glistening with tears as he stared at his unconscious brother. Peyton went over to him and gave him a hug as Karen gave Haley one. When they broke apart, Karen gave Nathan a hug.

"What happened?" Nathan asked as him and Karen pulled apart.

"Drunk driver hit him head on. It doesn't look good." Peyton said.

"I can tell. What happened to the guy the hit hi?" Nathan asked.

"Hopefully he's in prison." Haley spat out bitterly.

"Actually he's dead. He was DOA." Peyton said.

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't, I didn't know." Haley slightly stammered.

"It's ok Haley." Karen said.

Haley looked down in shame and walked over to Lucas. She looked at the bruises on his face and tears were once again in her eyes. Nathan walked up beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. The door opened and they all looked over to see who was coming in. It was Brooke.

"Hey." She said. They all said their hellos and they each gave Brooke a hug. Then, they all sat down in the chairs by Lucas' bed and just looked at him, hoping his eyes would open.

That's how it was for the next few weeks. The first couple of days were spent in silence for the most part. Then, after about 3 days, they started talking more.

Karen refused to leave Lucas' side for the first 2 days. Then, somehow, Peyton was able to convince her to go home, shower, eat and get some rest. After that, Karen was slowly able to go home more and more without having to be told.

As the weeks progressed, everyone got used to Lucas being in a coma. It was still hard to see but the shock of it wore off after about 2 weeks.

Before they knew it, a month had passed and it was time to go to college. Brooke was going to a fashion school in Florida while Nathan and Haley were going to Duke. Peyton was suppose to go to UNC with Lucas but those plans changed as soon as she got that phone call from Karen a month ago saying that Lucas was in the hospital.

"What do you mean you're staying in Tree Hill?!" Brooke asked Peyton as the 2 of them, as well as Nathan and Haley, were on their way to the airport. Brooke was leaving today for school and they were all going to the airport to say goodbye.

"Exactly what I said Brooke." Peyton responded.

"But P, you can't stay here. We made a pact when we were younger that when we were done with high school we'd get out of this town and go to the colleges we wanted to. If you stay here you'll be breaking that pact." Brooke said.

"Brooke, that was like 10 years ago and besides, I don't want to leave yet. I want to wait until Lucas wakes up." Peyton said.

"Peyton you don't know when that's going to happen or even if it's going to happen."

"Brooke!" Haley said, glaring at Brooke. Brooke mumbled an apology as she sank down in her seat.

"Well I for one think that staying here to wait for Lucas is a really sweet thing to do." Haley said.

"Yea. Me too. Just, don't wait too long Peyt. I know you love him and you want him to wake up, but don't put your life and dreams on hold forever." Nathan said from the driver's seat.

"I won't, but for now, I'm going to stay." Peyton said.

"Well, if that's what you want P. Sawyer, then I guess it's ok with me. Just don't sit around in the hospital all day everyday. Get a job or something." Brooke said smiling.

"Will do B. Davis."

"Well, we're here." Nathan said as he parked the car and turned the engine off.

"Alright. Let's go." Brooke said. They all got out of the car and Nathan and Peyton helped Brooke carry her bags. They checked her bags in and made their way to the security check. Once they reached the security check they stopped to say goodbye there.

"Well I guess this is it." Brooke said, looking at her friends. "What time are you two leaving?" She asked, looking at Nathan and Haley.

"About 2 o'clock. That gives us 2 hours. We're already packed and ready to go." Haley said.

"Oh. Ok. Well, I hope you guys have a nice drive. Be careful. With both of your histories with car accidents you should definitely be careful." Brook said, smiling.

" We will Davis." Nathan said. Then, he gave her a hug and said "We'll miss you." Then, Haley gave her a hug. "I'm gonna miss you tutor mom." "I'm gonna miss you too tigger." "You better call me as soon as that boy in your bell decides to come out." "I'll have Nathan call you as soon as I feel the first contraction." Both girls laughed and finally pulled apart.

Last but not least was Peyton. The two girls just stared at each other before falling into a tight embrace. "I'm gonna miss you B. Davis." "I'm gonna miss you P. Sawyer. You take care of yourself and that boy of yours." "I will. You take care of yourself too. You're going to do great B. I know you are." "Aww…I love you guys." Haley said as she joined the two. The three girls stood there in a hug crying.

After a few minutes of this Nathan spoke up "Um…I hate to interrupt but uh…If you don't leave now you might miss your flight."

"He's right." Brooke said as the 3 pulled apart. They wiped their eyes and looked at each other. "I guess this is really it." Brooke said.

"Call us when you get there." Peyton said.

"Will do."

"See ya tigger."

"See ya tutor mom."

"Later Davis."

"Later Sawyer." Brooke then turned around and started walking towards the metal detectors. She turned around just before she walked through. "Take care of them Scott." She said to Nathan. "I will." He responded. Then, she turned around and walked through the metal detectors. Once she was on the other side, she turned around, waved goodbye, and continued walking to her gate.

The next 2 hours went by fairly quick for Peyton, Haley and Nathan. They went to the café after leaving the airport and just stayed there until it was time to go. When it was time to leave, they went up to Karen to say bye.

"Well I guess this is it." Haley said. She gave Karen a hug and Karen said "Take care of yourself." "You too. Call me as soon as Emily is born." "I will. You have that husband of yours call me when little Lucas is born." "I will." The two women broke the hug and wiped their eyes. Then Nathan gave Karen a hug as Haley gave Peyton one. "Don't give up on him Peyt." Haley whispered to Peyton. When they broke the hug Peyton nodded her head as to say 'Ok'. Then, Peyton gave Nathan a hug.

"I'm gonna miss you Sawyer."

"I'm only a car ride away Scott."

Nathan kissed her forehead after breaking the hug. Then, him and Haley walked to the door and turned around before stepping out. They smiled at Karen and Peyton before waving. Then, they left.

After helping Karen out at the café for another hour, Peyton went to the hospital to see Lucas. She went in his room and sat beside him entwining their fingers.

"Hey." She said. "Haley, Nathan and Brooke left today. Brooke got to Florida safely. She called me when the plane landed. Nathan and Haley are still on the road. Nathan says he has to stop every 15 minutes because Haley's either hungry or has to use the bathroom. Neither of them can wait until that boy is born. They're naming him after you. Lucas Ryan Scott. That's his name. Your mom's doing good. She's still working but not too much. She knows her limits. I help her out when I can. Which is all the time. Especially since I'm not going anywhere. Yea, you heard right. I'm staying here." She was smiling up until this point. Tears began stinging the back of her eyes as she continued speaking.

"I can't go to UNC Luke. Not without you. I'm gonna stay here, in Tree Hill, until you wake up. Hopefully it'll be soon. I miss you Luke. Wake up soon, ok? I keep thinking about how it was before the accident. How we used to go to the Rivercourt and just sit on the court and listen to music. When it got cold you would hold me in your arms and that would be enough to warm me up completely. We'd just sit there listening to music and every now and then we'd steal kisses. I miss that. I miss the little things. I miss…I miss when I'd go to your house early in the morning before you even wake up. I'd sneak up on you and jump on your bed or turn your radio up really loud and you'd jump out of bed screaming. I'd laugh so hard that it would get you even angrier. Then you'd look at me laughing and you'd soften up and laugh too. I miss that. I miss your laugh, your smile, your voice. I miss you Lucas. Everyday. I miss you. I just want you to know that…I'm here for you Lucas. I'm not leaving you. I'll be here for you Lucas. I promise."

Peyton now had tears in her eyes as she stood up and placed a soft kiss on Lucas' forehead. Then, she sat back in the chair and turned the television on. She sat watching T.V. as her hand was still entwined with Lucas'.

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Thanks for the reviews and Please keep them coming!! 


	4. Awakening

Thank you all for the reviews. I really appreciate it. I hope you continue to read and enjoy this fic. As for your question Joise, this chapter answers it.

Enjoy!!

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_**1 Year Later**_

Peyton sat on her bed just staring at the wall, thinking. She had a choice to make and she didn't know what to do. She knew what she wanted to do, but she didn't know if it was the right thing to do. She was torn. She stayed sitting there for hours. Finally, she made her decision.

She heard a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," She said. It was her dad. He'd come back 2 weeks ago from another job.

"Hey," She said.

"Hey. So, have you made your decision?" He asked.

"Yes I have."

"And?"

"I'm going to do it." Peyton said.

"Good. You're doing the right thing," Larry said. He saw the expression on his daughter's face and walked over to her. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her head up slightly.

"Hey. You're doing the right thing," He said. She tried looking away but he didn't let her.

"You are Peyton."

"I know. It's just…hard."

"I know it is sweetie but it is the right thing."

"Right. Well, I have to go. I promised Karen I'd help her out today," Peyton said as she stood up.

"Ok. Are you going to tell her?" Larry asked.

"Yeah. I'm gonna tell him too," She responded.

"Good. I'll see you later sweetie."

"See ya dad," Peyton said as she grabbed her car keys and left the room.

She drove to the café and went in. When she walked in she was greeted by a little girl running toward her. She smiled and bent down to pick Emily up.

"Hey there Em."

"Peyon!" The little girl happily said. She was new to talking. She only mastered 6 words. Yes, no, mommy, daddy, Lucas and Peyton. Even those words didn't sound the way they were supposed to, but she wasn't even a year old yet so it was ok. She was always faster at learning than most kids her age.

"You get bigger and bigger every time I see you." Peyton said as she walked over to the counter.

"Hi Peyton."

"Hey Karen. How's it going?"

"Good. We aren't too busy today so I'll be able to close up early so I can go see Lucas.

"Luchis!" Emily said smiling. Peyton and Karen both laughed slightly at this. Then Peyton put Emily in the play area and walked back over to Karen.

"Have you heard from Haley and Nathan?" She asked.

"Yea. Haley called me this morning. She said she's doing well and so is Nathan and Little Lucas. She said she misses us and she asked about Lucas and Emily as well as you. She's sorry they didn't stay long this summer but Nathan had to get back for summer training."

"That's ok. I'm just glad they came at all. I talked to Brooke last night."

"Oh, how's she doing?"

"Good. Her and Jake are still trying to figure out how they're going to date in 2 different states."

"Well doesn't Jake have custody of Jenny? Can't he just move to Florida?" Karen asked.

"He has joint custody. Moving would only make seeing Jenny harder. They'll figure it out though. I know they will. I just can't believe they're seeing each other. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them, but I never would've thought they'd get together."

"Yea. How'd that happen anyways?"

"Well, Brooke had to go to Savannah for some fashion show for a week long class trip. When she got there some friends went to the club Jake works at. They hung out that night and most of that week. When she left they kept in touch and when she went back a month later, Jake asked her out. After that they decided to date and Brooke would visit him twice a month. She spent the whole summer there. That's why she didn't come here. She's actually still there. I don't think she wants to go back to Florida. They've gotten really close these past 7 months. I hope it works out for them. They're good for each other. Plus, Brooke's actually good with Jenny. Jake said Jenny has taken a liking to her."

"Well that's good. It seems as though everyone is happy now. Everyone that is, except you." Karen said. Peyton was taken aback by what Karen had said.

"Wha…what do you mean?" She asked.

"Peyton, it's been a year and Lucas isn't any better. You've stuck by his side putting your life on hold for him. I think it's time you move on Peyton. I know Lucas is my son and it hurts to think that he won't wake up but, it's been a year and Lucas' condition isn't any better. You shouldn't keep putting your life on hold. You have too much potential. It's time you move on."

"I…I…"Peyton stammered. "I know." She said in a whisper as she closed her eyes letting a single tear escape.

"I actually came here to tell you that um…I got accepted into an art school in New York City. I just got the letter a week ago. I didn't know what to do. It's a great opportunity for me. It's not just an art school but a business school as well. I applied last month. I didn't think I didn't get in, but I did. I really want to do this Karen and I'm sorry that…" She stopped there due to Karen cutting her off.

"Don't be sorry Peyton. You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm proud of you. Did you know that? You've been so strong throughout this whole ordeal and you've been a huge help to me. It's time you go do something for you."

"Thank you Karen. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Just, make sure you call every weekend. Ok?"

"I will. I promise."

"Good. When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Wow. That's soon. I didn't think you'd be leaving so soon."

"My dad got the ticket yesterday. I hadn't made my decision but somehow, he knew what it would be. Actually, I should go pack now. I'll stop by tomorrow before I leave."

"Ok. Don't forget. I'll see you tomorrow."

Peyton then gave Karen a hug and went home to pack. When she was done packing she laid on her bed and thought about how she was going to say goodbye to Lucas. She was going to miss him so much but she knew that this was for the best. She drifted off to sleep as she thought more about what she was going to tell Lucas.

The next day she woke up and took a shower. She did some last minute packing before she loaded the car and went to the hospital to say bye to Lucas, something she's been dreading for the past 2 days.

She walked into his room. The only sound being heard was the steady pace of his heart through the monitor. She walked up to his right side and stood there in silence for about 5 minutes.

"Hey." She finally said.

"I've been trying to find the right way to say this but uh…I don't really think there is one so, I'll just say it. I'm leaving Lucas. I got accepted into a really good art school in New York City. I've always wanted to go to New York. Now's my chance. I already have an apartment there. My dad has a friend in the city that knows a guy who owns a really nice apartment building. He got me a great deal. My dad's gonna pay for it for the first few months but I have to get a job to pay for it after that. Luckily, the school gave me a full scholarship. They said I have a lot potential. Your mom says I do too. Everything is going good for me now. I'm gonna call your mom and my dad as much as I can. I'll miss them. I'll miss all of you. Who knows when the next time I see them will be. I don't think I'll be coming back much to visit. I don't think I can. I can't do this anymore Luke." She said, her voice cracking and tears falling. "It hurts too much to see you and not be able to be with you. I have to move on and I can't if I keep coming to see you. I have to…I have to move on with my life. I'm sorry Lucas, but this is goodbye. I do want you to know that I love you and always will and if there was a chance of you waking up then I'd stay or I'd wait for you but, it's been a year and there's no change. The doctors don't think you'll ever wake up. Usually it's hopeless after a few months in a case like yours. I can't keep hoping you'll wake up and we'll get together again and live happily every after. Life's not a fairytale and I know it. I just…I have to get out of here. I'm sorry." She said. Then, she leaned down and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Goodbye Lucas." She whispered. Then, se turned around and walked to the door. Just before she walked out she turned to Lucas and said "I'll always love you. Always." With that, she left to go say goodbye to Karen, Emily and her dad. Then, she went to the airport to catch her plane and go to start her new life in New York.

_**6 Months Later**_

Peyton was on her way to her favorite coffee spot in the city. It was small and quiet. It reminded her of Karen's café. That's why she liked it so much. It reminded her of home. She missed Tree Hill a lot but she liked living in the city. The sites were beautiful and there were a lot of art galleries to check out. She made a lot of new friends here too. She was happy to have some friends that were into art just as she was. She was an art major but took business classes as well so she had friends that were into business as well. She thought about what Ellie had told her about studying both business and art and that's what interested her in this school. It was a great opportunity to do both of the things she loved to do.

She was right around the corner from the café so she decided to get her money now. She reached into her purse to grab the money and the next thing she knew, she had bumped into someone else. She looked up to see who she had bumped into and saw a man who looked about her age.

"I am so sorry." He said.

"No, no. It's my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. She then looked down and saw that some of her things were on the ground. She groaned as she knelt down to pick them up.

"Here, let me help you." The man said as he knelt beside her. Thank you. She said as she looked at him. She stared at him for a few seconds before she realized what she was doing. She thought that he was a nice man and it didn't hurt that he was good looking. He was tall and had dark brown hair and green eyes. He was clean shaven and looked as though he was a college student. She couldn't help but steal glances at him every now as then as they continued to pick up her things. When they were finished, they both stood up.

"Thank you." Peyton said.

"It was my pleasure." The man said, smiling. "Oh, where are my manners? My name's Michael. Michael Harris." He said as he extended his hand so that she could shake it.

"I'm Peyton. Peyton Sawyer." She said as she took his extended hand in hers and shook it.

"Peyton. That's a nice name." Michael said as he took in her features.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome. It was nice to have met you Peyton." He said as they stopped shaking hands. "Look, I know we just met and this may be too forward but, do you think maybe…we could go get a cup of coffee sometime? Get to know each other." He asked, hopeful.

Peyton thought about it for a moment. 'He does seem nice and he is cute. Plus, I did come here to move on and it's been a few months since I left so, why not? What could it hurt?' She thought.

"Yes. That would be nice. I was actually going to my favorite coffee place now. It's this small place right around the corner called…"

"Anna's." Michael cut in. "That's my favorite place too."

"Well, would you like to join me?"

"Really?" Michael asked.

"Yes."

"Well then, yes. I would love to join you." Michael said, smiling. Then, the two of them walked over to the café and got some coffees. They sat and talked for 3 hours. When they had to go Michael asked Peyton to dinner for the following night. Peyton happily accepted.

**Tree Hill Memorial**

_Lucas' Room_

His breathing began to increase. His brain activity was up. His hand began to twitch. The monitors were showing signs of life. His eyes began to move. Not opening, just moving under his eyelids. Then, without hesitation, his eyes opened. Lucas was awake.

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So there it is. Lucas is now awake but Peyton is now moving on. What drama.lol. I hope you liked this chapter!! Please review!! 


	5. Moving On

I am SO sorry it took me so long to update. I've been kind of busy with school and such these past 2 weeks and this chapter took a while to write. I hope you enjoy it and forgive me for taking so long. Once again, I apologize.

Ok so this is the last of what I like to call the prolouge chapters. THus the reason I jump ahead in time so much. The next chapter will be when the story really starts and gets interesting. I hope you enjo this chapter and the others to come!!

P.S. Joise, you are absolutely right. She hasn't actually moved on. She only accepted coffe with him but, as you will see in this chapter, coffe turns into a date which turns into another date etc etc until it turns into something more. So by the end of this chapter she will haved moved on but, no matter what, feelings like the ones between Lucas and Peyton just don't go away._ They'll always be there. _

Thank you for all the reviews and I hope you continue to read,enjoy and review my fic!!

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His eyes darted around the room. He couldn't remember what happened or how he got there but he knew he was in the hospital. He had been there enough times to know what it looked like without even being told. He tried to sit up but all e felt was pain in the upper half of his body. He looked to the right and noticed the nurses call button. He pressed it and waited a few minutes before a nurse came in. 

As soon as the nurse walked in her jaw dropped. "Mr.Scott! You're awake!" she said. She figured it was just a visitor wanting something. She didn't expect him to be the one calling for a nurse. "I've got…I've got to go get your doctor." She scurried out of the room to go get his doctor. Moments later, the door opened again and in walked the doctor.

"Mr.Scott. Your awake!" The doctor said, surprised. He walked over to the monitors to check his brain activity and breathing. Then, he took out his small flashlight and shined it into each of Lucas' eyes.

"Well, everything looks good. You are a very lucky man Mr.Scott. Very Lucky." The doctor said.

Lucas tried to say something but he couldn't speak. When nothing came out of his mouth, he began to panic.

"Don't worry Lucas. That's normal." The doctor said as he tried calming Lucas down. "You've been in a coma for a while now. Your voice should be back in a few days."

Lucas looked at the doctor as though he were asking him something. The doctor tried to figure out what it was he wanted. After a minute, he realized what it was.

"You want to know how long you've been out for, don't you?" Lucas nodded. "Well, this is going to come as quite a shock to you Lucas but, you've been in a coma for a year and a half now."

Tears immediately began to well in Lucas' eyes when he heard this. He couldn't believe it. He had been in a coma for a year and a half. He must've missed so much. He's missed a year of his life. More than that. All he could think of was what he must've missed in this past year and a half.

He was taken away from his thoughts by the doctor starting to talk to him again.

"I understand that this must be hard for you and you might want some time alone but we have to run a few tests to see if there was any permanent damage done. If everything goes smoothly then we'll be able to start your physical therapy in about a week. Then you can go home in about 2 weeks and just come back every other day for your physical therapy. Then, it shouldn't take long for you to be walking again and getting back to your old self again. Does that sound good?" Lucas closed his eyes and slightly nodded his head. "Good. Now, I'm going to go call your mom and then we'll take you to get those tests done. Your mom will be more than happy to know that you're awake. She's been coming here everyday since the accident. I'm glad I can finally give her some great news." With that, the doctor exited the room to go call Karen.

_'My mom'_ Lucas thought. He hadn't seen her in over a year. He wondered how she was and how the baby was. _'The baby! My little sister. She's a year old now. I wonder how she looks.'_ This thought brought him to thoughts of his nephew, Nathan and Haley. _'I wonder what they named him. I hope they're doing ok. God, I must've missed so much.'_ It hurt to think of how much he missed in this past year and a half. He hated the fact that he's missed so much time. Tears threatened to escape his eyes. He closed his eyes to stop them from coming out. As soon as he did this, he saw flashes of the accident.

_Music blasting.  
Picture falling.  
Bright lights.  
Pain._

His eyelids snapped open as the flashes stopped. He remembered. The picture fell and he went to pick it up. His music was on really loud. He couldn't hear anything except for that. He remembered. Everything. He remembered. Emailing Nathan and Haley. Getting ready for his date. Going to pick up Peyton.

_'Peyton'_ He thought. _'I wonder how she is, where she is. I've got to see her.'_

There was a knock on the door and the doctor came back in. "Well Lucas, your mother's on her way. She'll be here soon. Now, We're going to take you up to level 4. You're going to have a cat scan done and some x-rays. Then we're going to take some blood. Tomorrow morning you'll get an MRI done. So, you ready?" Lucas simply nodded.

"Alright well, let's get these tests done." The doctor could tell that Lucas was in pain by the look on his face when he tried to move his arm. "When we get up there I'll have the nurse give you something for the pain. Those muscles of yours are fragile. They haven't been used in over a year so they're going to be sore for a while. Especially when you start your physical therapy. It'll get better though. Trust me." The doctor said, giving Lucas a comforting smile.

2 hours later all the tests were done and Lucas was brought back up to his room where his mother was waiting. "Lucas." She whispered as they rolled Lucas's bed back into the room. "My boy. Lucas. Your awake!" Karen said as she hugged Lucas. Tears were falling from both of their eyes as they stayed in their embrace for several minutes. They finally broke apart as the doctor walked in.

"Miss Roe, it's nice to see you. I bet you're happy your son's awake."

"Very much so."

"Right. Well, we just took him to get some tests done and he has more to take tomorrow. The results probably won't be in for a few days but if everything goes well then Lucas should make a full recovery."

"That's great."

"Yes. Now, he won't be able to speak for at least another day or so. Since he hasn't used his voice in over a year it's going to take some time for him to talk normally again but he will. It will develop as a stutter first but it will get better. Also, his muscles are very fragile so it'll take a lot of physical therapy to get him walking again." The doctor said.

"He's going to walk again though, right?" Karen asked.

"Yes, he should. Here Lucas." He said handing Lucas a clipboard with blank paper on it. "If you want something just right it down." Lucas took the clipboard and wrote something on the paper. He showed it to the doctor and it read '_Thank you'_. The doctor smiled and replied "You're very welcome Lucas. I'll leave you two alone." With that, the doctor exited the room leaving Lucas and Karen alone.

"I'm so happy your awake Lucas. I've been hoping that you'd wake up for so long. It's good to see you with your eyes open." Karen said. Lucas wrote something down on his clipboard and showed t to his mom. It read '_I'm happy to see you too. How are you? How's my little sister?'_

"I'm fine and so is Emily. I'll bring her by later to see you if you want."

Once again Lucas wrote something on his clipboard and showed it to his mother. It read _'Yes please. I would love to see her.'_

Karen smiled at this and said _'Ok'._ Lucas wrote on his clipboard again and showed it to his mother. It read _'How's everyone? Nathan, Haley, Brooke…Peyton. How's Peyton? Where is she?'_ Karen's smile slowly faded as she read what he'd written.

"Well, Nathan and Haley are doing fine. As you know they had a boy. I won't tell you the name yet. That'll be a surprise. Brooke is doing great. She lives in Savannah with Jake. They're dating now. She goes to a fashion school in Georgia not too far from Savannah. As for Peyton. She got accepted into an art school in New York. She stayed here for a year before she left. She had to go Lucas. She had to live her life. You were in a coma for a year and the doctors didn't think you'd wake up so, she went to go fulfill her dream. You should be proud of her." Lucas slowly nodded his head with a fake smile plastered on his face. "I have her number. I'll call her and tell her that you're awake. She'll be more than happy about that." Karen said.

_'Don't call her'_ Lucas wrote.

"What? Why not?" Karen asked.

_'I don't want her to see me like this. I'd rather wait until I'm better. Then, I can go to New York and surprise her. I'm not mad that she went to go fulfill her dreams. I'm glad she did and I am proud. I'll tell her when the times right…surprise her. Trust me.'_ He wrote. Karen wasn't so sure about this considering it could take a while for him to get better but she saw the look in his eyes and knew that this was something he really wanted to do so she agreed to not tell Peyton.

_'Thank you.'_ Lucas wrote. _'I would like to see Nathan, Haley, my nephew, Brooke and Jake. Can you call them for me?'_ Lucas asked.

"Of course."

_'Thank you. Um…can you please make sure that none of them call Peyton and tell her? Please?'_

Karen hesitated before answering "Sure." She smiled before exiting the room to call her son's friends and tell them the good news.

Haley heard the phone ring in the other room as she was giving little Lucas a bath.

"Nathan can you get that?" She yelled to Nathan.

"Yea" She heard him yell back.

After about 5 minutes passed Nathan ran into the bathroom with a smile on his face. Haley looked up at him and asked "Why are you smiling? Who was on the phone? Your mistress calling?" She said jokingly.

"Luke's awake." Nathan said.

"What?!" Haley said, nearly screaming.

"Karen just called. He's awake." Nathan said, still smiling.

"Oh my god! We have to go see him." Haley said as she grabbed a towel. She picked up little Lucas and wrapped the towel around him.

"I know. I'll go pack our stuff." Nathan said as he left the bathroom. 1 hour later, they were on the next flight to Tree Hill North Carolina.

**Savannah Georgia**

Brooke was at the sink doing dishes when she felt an arm snake around her waist.

"Have I told you how incredibly sexy you look today?" Jake whispered in her ear.

"Nope. Not today." Brooke said, smiling.

"Well then let me tell you now." He said as Brooke turned off the sink and turned around.

"You look incredibly sexy today."

"What about every other day? I don't look incredibly sexy every other day?"

"You look incredibly sexy every day."

"Good answer." She said as she wrapped her arms around his neck brought him in for a kiss. Just as their lips met the phone began to ring. They broke apart and both sighed.

"I'll get that." Brooke said.

"Hello." She answered.

"Brooke, hi. It's Karen."

"Hey Karen. How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you and Jake?"

"We're good."

"That's good. I have some great news."

"Oh yea? What is it?"

"It's Lucas. He's awake."

"What?!" Brooke said, yelling in Karen's ear, on accident.

"That seems to be the reaction of everyone. The yelling too." Karen said, slightly laughing.

"I'm sorry. It's just…are you serious?"

"Yes. Very much so. I called Nathan and Haley already. They're on their way."

"Me and Jake will be there as soon as we can."

"Good. Luke will be really happy to see you both."

"Yea. We'll be really happy to see him awake. Wait. Peyton! Does she know? I've got to call her and tell her."

"No no, Brooke you can't tell her."

"What? Why not?"

"Lucas doesn't want her to know yet. He wants to get better and surprise her. Promise me you won't tell her."

"Ok, I promise. I think it's kind of stupid but I still promise."

"I'm right there with you. I have to get back now."

"Ok. We'll see you soon."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye."

"Ok so where are we going and who to see?" Jake asked as Brooke hung up the phone.

"Lucas is awake." Brooke said with a smile on her face.

"That's great! Come on, we have to pack." Jake said.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Brooke said. Then, after an hour, the two were at the airport getting ready to board a plane back to Tree Hill North Carolina.

**Lucas' room**

Lucas was staring at the ceiling, thinking, when he hear the door creak open. He expected it to be his mother but when he looked up he saw a young man about his age standing there with a shocked look on his face.

"Yo…you're awake." He stuttered out.

Lucas grabbed his clipboard and wrote _'Who are you?'_

The young man read this and said " Right. You don't know me. I'm Johnathan Wright. My little brother's the one that hit you. Your mom told me it was all right to come visit you. I've been coming once a month for the past year. It's good to see you're awake." John said as he walked over to the side of Lucas' bed.

John and Lucas were talking for the next few minutes (John talking, Lucas writing) until Karen came back into the room.

"John. I didn't know you were coming today. I see you've finally officially met Lucas." Karen said when she was John.

"Yea. I have. We've been getting to know each other a bit. I told him about the offer I made you. I offered it to him too." He turned to Lucas "Give it some thought. You'll probably be seeing some more of me so take your time. You seem like a cool guy Lucas. Hopefully we can be friends. I've got to go now so, I'll see you later." He said, shaking Lucas' hand and then nodding to Karen. Then, he left.

"Well, I called your friends. Nathan, Haley, Brooke and Jake will all be her sometime today." Karen told Lucas. Lucas smiled and wrote _'When can I see my sister?'_

"How about I get her when Nathan and Haley arrive. I don't want to leave you alone." Karen said. Lucas simply nodded as his mother pulled up a chair and sat down.

For the next 2 hours, Karen caught Lucas up on all that he's missed in the past year that she knew of. Lucas listened to her and it hurt to hear how much he's missed but he didn't show the hurt. He didn't want his mom to worry.

Karen was telling Lucas about how the café was when they heard the door creak open. They looked over and saw Nathan, Haley and little Lucas standing in the doorway. Lucas smiled as Haley ran over to his bedside and gave him a hug, tears in her eyes.

"I can't believe you're really awake." She said as they broke the hug. Nathan walked up to the other side of Lucas' bed and gave him a hug as well while Haley gave Karen a hug.

"We missed you big brother." Nathan said as he pulled away from Lucas. Then, Nathan bent down and picked up little Lucas.

"Hey buddy. There's someone I want you to meet." He said. He looked at Lucas and said "This is your uncle Lucas. Lucas, this is your Nephew. Lucas Ryan Scott."

Lucas looked at Nathan with a shocked and happy expression. Nathan simply nodded his head, already knowing what it was Lucas was wondering. Lucas outstretched his arms, ignoring the pain, and grabbed his nephew. He hugged him and felt tears escape his eyes when he felt him hug back. When they broke apart, Haley picked little Lucas, or Ryan as they were soon to get accustomed to calling him, up and sat him in her lap as she sat down.

"So Lucas, how're you feeling?" She asked.

"Oh, He can't talk. His voice is gone but, only temporarily." Karen said.

"Oh." Haley said.

_'I'm ok. Sore but at least I'm alive.'_ Lucas wrote.

"I second that." Haley said.

"I third it." Karen said.

"Well we might as well make it unanimous." Nathan said as they all laughed.

"Well, I guess this means I can go get Emily now. I'll be back soon. You two keep an eye on him." Karen said.

"Will do Karen." Haley said.

"Good. I'll see you soon."

"See ya Karen." Haley and Nathan said as Lucas waved and Karen left.

The three of them talked for the next half hour about what's been going on in their lives. They were discussing Nathan's basketball career when Karen came back.

"Ok. I'm back." Karen said as she waked into the room with Emily in her hands.

"Hey Karen. Emily!" Haley said as she gave Ryan to Nathan and walked over to Karen. She picked Emily up and have her a hug. Haley then gave Emily back to Karen who took her over to Lucas.

"Em, this is your big brother Lucas. Lucas, meet your little sister Emily." Karen said. She handed Emily over to Lucas who looked at her and instantly thought of how much she looked like Keith. He took her into his arms and hugged her, a tear escaping his eyes when he heard her say his name. Granted, she didn't say it entirely correct, but he didn't care. Karen took Emily back and sat her on her lap as she sat down. She was about to say something when the door opened. It was Brooke and Jake.

When Brooke saw Lucas she immediately felt the tears welling in her eyes. She ran over to his bedside and embraced him in a hug. She missed Lucas a lot. After he had his heart attack they started to talk a bit. Once she began talking to Peyton more, they began to talk more as well. Soon after that, they became good friends. She became one of his best friends and him hers. She was happy with the way things turned our between the 3 of them. Her and Lucas weren't good as a couple but she realized that they were great as friends.

They broke the hug, Brooke wiping her eyes as she pulls away.

"I can't believe you're really awake. It's been so long. I didn't think you'd wake up, but you did. Your awake." Brooke said. Jake walked up behind Brooke and said "It's good to have you back man. We missed you." Lucas smiled and nodded.

Nathan, Haley, Karen, Jake and Brooke all exchanged their hugs, hellos and how are yous before sitting down and talking about what's been going on in their lives and what's new. They all stayed in the room with Lucas talking and joking around until visiting hours were over. When they were, they said good night to Lucas and left to the café.

* * *

Karen was making the gang something to eat as Emily and Ryan were sleeping in the playpen. 

"So, you're planning on opening a Hoes over Bros shop when you get out of school huh?" Haley asked Brooke.

"Yup. I've been saving up for it. It'll be a small shop at first but then, after about 5 years, it'll be a huge clothing industry with stores all over the country." Brooke said, smiling.

"Well, if anyone can do it it's you Brooke. I'm happy for you." Haley said.

"Thanks. What about you? How's the music going?" Brooke asked.

"Good. One of Nathan's friends knows a guy that owns a recording studio. He said he can get me some free recording time to make my demo. I could just call my old record company but, I want to do this my own way. The harder way."

"Ah, that's the Haley James-Scott I know and love." Brooke said.

"So Nate, how's basketball treating you?" Jake asked.

"Good. The teams doing well. I think, no, I know if we keep going on like this, we'll be the best in the country." Nathan said.

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves there aren't we Nate? Brooke asked.

"Nope." Nathan said with a cocky grin on his face causing all four of them to laugh. Brooke was about to say something else when her cell phone beeped. She took it out and saw that she had 4 missed calls and 2 new messages, all from Peyton.

"Who's that?" Jake asked.

"Messages from Peyton." Brooke said as she put the phone to her ear to listen to the messages. Karen came over with the food and noticed Brooke's shocked and worried face.

"Brooke, what's wrong?" Karen asked.

" This." Brooke said as she put her phone on speaker and replayed the messages.

"Brooke, where are you? Why aren't you answering your phone? You always answer your phone. Ok anyways, guess what. I got a date tonight. It's with this really cute guy I had coffee with earlier. He's really nice. Ok, call me back for more details. Love ya B. Davis!"

**2nd Message**

"Oh my God Brooke, I had one of the best nights ever. Michael's great. He's nice, cute, considerate, giving, and absolute gentleman. He's great. We're going out again tomorrow night. Hey, are you ok Brooke? You haven't been answering all day. Call me back so I know you're alive alright? Love you."

**End messages.**

They all sat in silence for a few minutes before speaking. "That doesn't mean anything, right? I mean, by the time Lucas is better she won't be seeing him, right?" Haley asked.

"R…right. I know Peyton. It's only been a few months. She's not over Lucas and knowing her she'll find the smallest flaw in this guy reason enough to break up. By the time Lucas is well enough to see her she'll definitely be single. Trust me." Brooke said.

"I hope you're right Brooke. I hope you're right." Nathan said.

"I am. Trust me." Brooke said.

They all sat eating in silence, the same thing on all of their minds: Things were not going to turn out well.

**

* * *

****1 year later**

The bell on the door of the café rang as someone walked in.

"Lucas!" and excited 2 year old Emily Scott yelled happily as she ran to her older brother.

"Hey Em. How's my favorite girl doing?" Lucas asked as he picked her up.

"Grood." She answered.

"Well that's grood." Lucas said as he approached the counter where his mother stood.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey mom. How are you?" He asked.

"I'm good. Now stop stalling. How'd it go?"

"I ask how you are and I'm stalling?" Lucas asked as he put Emily down.

"Lucas." Karen warned.

"Ok, ok. It went great. Doctor gave me a clean bill of health, officially."

"Oh Lucas that's great." She said as she walked around the counter to give Lucas a hug.

"So, where do you want to go now that you can go anywhere you want?" Karen asked as they pulled apart.

"I have a place in mind." Lucas said, smiling.

"Right. Lucas, about Peyton…" Karen started but was cut off.

"Hey, hey Lucas. So, what's the verdict?"

"I got the ok. I'm good."

"That's awesome man. I guess it's a good thing we got that ticket for today."

"Ticket? What ticket?" Karen asked. Both boys stood silent.

"Lucas Eugene Scott and Johnathan Edward Wright you tell me what's going on now." Karen said sternly.

"Woah. She said my full name. Even my mom doesn't say my full name. Should I be worried?" Jon asked Lucas.

"Not as worried as I should be." Lucas said.

"Lucas." Karen said.

"Ok, ok. I'm going to see Peyton. Today. Now. Actually I have to get going or else I'm going to miss my flight so I'll see you later." He said as he hugged his mother. He ran out the door before she could say anything. She wanted to tell him about Michael but it was too late. He was already gone and not answering his cell phone. Karen called Haley and told her about Lucas going to see Peyton. Haley then called Brooke.

"Hello." Brooke answered.

"Lucas is on his was to see Peyton."

"What?! He can't! Why didn't you stop him?"

"I just found out. Karen called me. He sprang it on her and didn't give her any time to tell him about Michael." Haley said.

"This is bad."

"Ya think!"

"Hey! Don't yell at me. This isn't my fault."

"You're the one that said things would turn out ok."

"Well how was I supposed to know that Peyton really liked the guy and would fall for him?"

"Whatever, look, I think we should go to Tree Hill. We should be there for Lucas."

"I agree. I'll talk to Jake."

"Ok. I gotta talk to Nathan about it too. I'll call you back later."

"Ok. Later Tutor mom."

"Later Tigger."

**

* * *

****New York**

He walked around the streets of New York looking for her. She wasn't at her apartment and she wasn't at school. He figured he'd try the café Brooke told him Peyton like. He figured it was worth a shot. He was excited about seeing her. He couldn't wait. He wondered if she had changed at all or if she was still the same Peyton. It didn't matter to him. Either way he'd love her with all his heart.

He rounded the corner and found himself looking at her. She was at the café across the street sitting at a table outside with a friend. Her friend said something that must've been a joke or something because t caused Peyton to laugh. Though he couldn't hear he laughter, he could see her smile, a smile he's waited 2 and a half years to see. It still made his heart jump when he saw that smile.

He was about to walk across the street when he saw a man walk up to Peyton. He watched as the man leant down and kissed Peyton. He watched as Peyton kissed him back. He watched as the guy sat next to Peyton, putting an arm around her shoulders. He watched as the man made her smile and as she looked at him with adoration. He watched as his heart broke.

His vision began to blur as tears welled in his eyes. He closed his eyes to keep the tears from escaping but one single tear did manage to escape. He opened his eyes and took one final look at her. He whispered and 'I love you' before turning around and disappearing around the corner.

Peyton was talking with her friend and boyfriend when she got a sudden feeling. It was like there was a presence that she hadn't felt in a long time. She looked to her right in time to see a man turning around. She couldn't see his face but from how he walked and carried himself she could've sworn it was 'No. It couldn't be.' She thought as she looked down. When she looked back up the man was gone, and so was the feeling.

"Babe, you ok?" Michael asked.

"Huh? Oh, yea. I'm fine." She answered, an unsure smile on her face. She turned back to the right looking for any sign of the man but found non. She figured it was just her imagination or something as she turned back to her friend and boyfriend.

**Tree Hill**

He walked into the café with his head down, only lifting it when he heard a few people faintly say "Surprise?" He looked up to see Brooke, Jake, Karen, Emily, Nathan, Haley, Ryan, and John. He just stared at them before asking "How long have you known?" They all looked at each other before answering.

"A year." Brooke said.

"A year? And yet no one thought it necessary to tell me?"

"We didn't know how. Plus, we didn't think it was going to last." Haley said.

"Well you were wrong. Some friends you are." Lucas said bitterly.

"Lucas, we're sorry ok. We didn't want to cause you unnecessary pain. We didn't think it would last." Haley said. Lucas sat down in a nearby chair, putting his head down.

"I'm sorry." He said. "It's just hard. It hurts."

"We know it does man. We're really sorry man." Nathan said, putting a hand on Lucas' shoulder.

"Yea. I guess its just time for me to move on." Lucas said.

"Hey, we're here for you Luke. Whatever you need. We're here." Jake said.

"Thanks." Lucas said.

"Well, I hate to break up this little comfort fest, but I have a date."

"Woah woah woah. A date? I'm gone not even a day and you've got a date? With who?" Lucas asked.

"Andy. He's back in Tree Hill now. For good."

"Oh, wow. That's great. Tell him I said Hi ok?"

"Ok. 'Night everyone."

" 'Night Karen." They all said as Karen left.

"So, what now?" Jake asked.

Lucas looked up at John and asked " Is it too late to accept that offer?"

"What offer? The money offer for the accident?" John asked.

"Yea."

"Nope. Not too late. Why? You want it?"

"Yea. I just thought of what I could use it for."

"What?" John asked.

"Moving on."

* * *

Ok so I kind of rushed on this chapter and I took a lot of things out but I still think this chapter turned out pretty good. Tell me waht you think please!! 


	6. Returning Home Pt1

_Ok, first, let me start off by saying I am so sorry for the long wait. I've been kind of busy lately so I haven't been able to Update. I wanted to keep the updates constant but I guess that plan's not working out. lol. N e ways...This chapter is where the story really starts IMO. Below is a few things you should know to understand what they are talking about in the story..._

_It's almost 3 years later and it's centered around the Christmas holiday. Lucas asked John for the money to help him move on in the last chapter. What I meant by that was that Lucas was going to use the money to help him move forward in his life. He went to UNC for a year. Then he moved back to Tree Hill to be closer to his mom and sisters.He used the money John gave him to open up a restaurant in Tree Hill called Leyton. He also opened up a book store. Both places are very successful. He is now a 4th grade English teacher. He went to a college 30 minutes away from Tree Hill and gratuated early. He got a degree in teaching and that's when he decided to teach 4th grade English. He is also coach of the elementary boys basketball team and he helps out with the kindergarteners during his free time. He is also the manager at Tric._

_Nathan was drafted to the L.A. Lakers 2 years ago. About a year after he was drafted, he had a knee injury. The doctors said he wouldn't be able to play again. Lucas helped him through the tuff time. He loaned him some money to start up a sports store. 6 months later, Andy helped him expand the store. He now has very successful sports stores all over the country. He now lives in Tree Hill with his wife and 3 kids, Ryan, Joe and Jeff. He is also the coahc of the Tree Hill Ravens._

_Haley made it big in the music industry but didn't tour due to Nathan's basketball carrer having him away from home most of the time. When he had his accident, they moved to Tree Hill and since he was home she went on tour for 2 months. Then she realised she missed her family too much to be on tour so her record producers agreed that she could stay at home and just record music from Tree Hill and appear on Tv and on the radio every now and then. She now lives in Tree Hill with her husband and 3 kids. She still does her music and is more successful and happy than ever._

_Jake and Brooke have been married for 1 year. Jake is a very successful musician who's on tour a lot and Brooke is the CEO and founder of Hoes-over-Bros, one of the most popular brand of women's clothing today. She opened it up about 2 years ago thanks to the money Luke loaned her. A year later she was branching out and putting stores all over the country with the help of Andy. She and Jake live in Savannah Georgia and they share custody of Jenny Jagielski with Nikki._

_Karen and Andy got married about 8 months after he moved back. They now have 2 kids together. Mary and Keith. They also have Emily, Karen and Keith's daughter. Lucas lives about 5 minutes away from them and he helps out with the kids by watching them and taking them to school and out to play etc.Andy is a college professor in Tree Hill and is a great father. Karen branched out the cafe with the help of Andy. She now has cafe's all over the country and she is happy with the way her life turned out._

_Peyton is now engaged to Michael. They are planning on getting married in the spring. She works in an art gallery that is run by her friend Lauren's dad. She lives with Micheal in New York City. She hasn't been to Tree Hill in 4 years and she hasn't seen her dad or friends in 1 year. She talks to Brooke and Haley almost every day and still has no idea that Lucas is awake._

_Lucas didn't branch out his cafe but he did branch out his book store, which is very successful. He is an all around good guy. He volunteers to help at the school and with town projects and he watches his sisters and brother as well as his nephews all the time.He even set up a daycare center. He set up a room for his nephews and sisters and brother in his house. He has a room mate who happens to be one of his best friends,John. Thier house is in Tree Hill but Luke is alone in the house most of the time because John is usually in Raleigh with his family. John is the broother of the driver that hit Lucas. They bacame friends after Lucas woke up. Lucas payed John back everything he gave him just as everyone payed Lucas back._

_For the most part everyone is happy and successful. Everyone that is, except for Lucas and Peyton. They both feel something is missing and they will soon find out that that thing that's missing is each other._

_Ok so, there it is. If I forgot anything then either I forgot it on purpose because it'll be brought up at another time or...I just forgot and will bring it up when I remember.lol. Alright, I think that's soo...I hope you all enjoy this chapter and Please review!! Thx!!_

* * *

**December 12,2011**

**2 years and 10 months later**

Karen heard a knock on the door as she was feeding Keith, her one month old son.

"Andy can you get that?" She called out to her husband of 2 years.

"Ok." He called back.

Andy went to the door with Emily in his arms. He opened it and as soon as he did,  
Emily happily said "Lucas!" and jumped into Lucas' arms.

"Woah. Hey Em. How's one of my favorite girls doing?" Lucas asked her as he walked into the house.

"Good."

"Well that's good. Hey Andy." He said, turning to Andy and shaking his hand.

"Hey Luke. How are you?" Andy asked.

"I'm good. How about you?"

"I'm good." Just then, Karen walked into the room.

"Lucas. I thought that was you." She said as she walked up to him and gave him a hug.

"Yup. It's me. I came to pick up Emily and Mary." Lucas said as they pulled apart.

"Mary isn't feeling well so she'll be staying home today." Andy said.

"Is she ok?" Lucas asked as he put Emily down.

"Yea. It's just a cold. She'll be fine." Karen said.

"Lucas?" A small voice said. They all looked over to where the voice came from and saw Mary, Andy and Karen's 1 and-a-half year old daughter, standing there with her teddy bear in her hands.

"Mary you're suppose to be in bed. What are you doing up?" Andy said as he picked the little girl up.

"Lucas." Mary said again with a weak smile.

"Oh I see. You want Lucas." Andy said. He walked over to Lucas and handed Mary to him.

"Hey Mare. You should be in bed. You're sick." Lucas said.

"I wanned a see you."

"You wanted to see me huh? Wanted to see your cool older brother? Understandable"  
Lucas said, cockily. "Well now that you've said hello, to bed you must go."

"Luke, lay off the Doctor Seuss." Karen said, laughing a little.

"That's kind of hard considering I'm an elementary school teacher and I help with the kindergarteners during story time." Lucas said, handing Mary back to Andy.

"Take it easy Mare. I'll drop by after practice." Lucas said as Andy took her back to her room.

"You have practice today?" Karen asked Lucas.

"Yea, right after school. You're going to have to come pick Emily up."

"Ok. When does practice end?"

"Today's the last one actually. I figured I'd give the boys an extra week of rest."

"How's the team doing?" Andy asked as he came walking in.

"Good. They're good. Best elementary team in the county."

"Thanks to their coach." Andy said.

"Thanks. It's really fun coaching these boys. They're not as aggressive as high school players are."

"I'm ready." Emily said as she walked into the room with her book bag on her back.

"Well look at that. You are ready. Well then, let's go." Lucas said, picking Emily up.

"Say bye to Mommy and Andy Em." Lucas said.

"Bye Mommy! Bye Andy!" Emily happily said while waving.

"Have a good day sweetie." Karen said.

"I will mom." Lucas said with a grin on his face as he walked out the door. Karen smiled and shook her head as Andy put an arm around her shoulder.

"You've done a great job with him. He's a good man." He said.

"Yeah, he is.Just like Keith was." Karen said, smiling at her husband. He smiled back and placed a kiss on her forehead.

* * *

Lucas walked up to the school holding Emily in his arms. He heard the familiar voice of his nephew calling him and he looked in the direction his voice was coming from. He saw Ryan and Nathan standing in the front of the school.

"Hey." He said as he approached them and put Emily down. Emily and Ryan then ran over to their friends and played with them.

"Hey big bro. What's up?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing really. You?"

"Same."

"Oh. You working today?" Lucas asked Nathan.

"Yea. I'm gonna go open the store after I leave from here. We're opening up another one in California. Los Angeles to be exact."

"Really? That's great man."

"Yeah, it is. Business is really good." Nathan said.

"That's good to hear. So your fine with the way things turned out?"

"Yeah. I mean don't get me wrong, I miss basketball, but I love spending time with my kids. I wouldn't be home as much if I wouldn't have blown out my knee."

"Yeah, you'd be on the road most of the time. I'm glad things worked out for you though."

"Yeah, thanks to you."

"It was no problem. So, where are the twin terrors?" Lucas asked, laughing slightly.

"Do not call my kids terrors BIL." The very familiar voice of Haley James-Scott said from behind Nathan.

"I'll stop calling them terrors when you stop calling me BIL." Lucas said as he gave Haley a hug.

"No such luck BIL. So, did my husband tell you the good news?"

"Yeah. He's opening up another store in California. That's great."

"Ok I meant the other great news."

"No. He didn't tell me anything else."

"I was going to before you walked up." Nathan said, trying to defend himself.

"Sure you were. Anyways, guess who's album reached number 4 on Bilboard's top 100." Haley said.

"Umm...Dashboard Confessional?" Lucas asked.

"No." Haley said, her smile slightly fading.

"Uh...Gavin Degraw? It's well deserved I must say." Lucas said, a smile forming on his face due to the annoyed look on Haley's face.

"No. It's me. I reached number 4 on Bilboard's top 100." Haley said, slightly annoyed that he didn't get it right away.

"I was only joking around Hales. I know. I heard it on the radio on the way here. Congratulations.  
You deserve it." Lucas said before pulling Haley in for another hug.

"Thanks Luke. I can't believe it actually happened. Oh, did you know Jake is number 6?"

"That I didn't know. I'll have to call and congratulate him later." Lucas said.

"Yeah. They asked me to tour again this morning too but I told them no. Not yet. I like being home and spending time with my kids and my husband. I'm fine with just appearing on shows and on the radio and recording my music. That's all I need, all I want." Haley said, smiling.

"Well that's good. So, you two coming to the Cafe tonight?" Lucas asked.

"Yup. We wouldn't miss our Friday night tradition for the world." Nathan said, just as the school bell rang.

"Ok. Well, it's time for school so I've got to go. I'll see you both tonight."

"Alright. Bye Ryan! Bye Emily! Have a good day!" Haley yelled to the kids who were making there way over to the entrance of the building.

"See ya tonight Luke." Nathan said as he walked to the driver's side of his SUV.

"See ya." Lucas said as he turned around and walked up to the entrance of the school.

* * *

**Savannah Georgia**

**Hoes-over-Bros main office**

"Brooke, your husband's on line one." Brooke's secretary, Sarah, told her.

"Thanks Sar." Brooke said before answering the phone. "Hey hubby. I miss you."

"I miss you too babe." Jake said.

"When are you coming home? You've been on the road for a month now. How long is this tour going to last?"

"Not much longer. I actually should be home soon."

"How soon?"

"As soon as you cancel what you have to do for the day and we get done with breakfast." Jake said through the phone and as he stood in Brooke's doorway.

"Oh my God! Jake!" Brooke yelped as she hung up the phone and ran to him.

"Hey! You hung up on me." Jake said, laughing. Brooke ran into his arms and the two hugged each other tightly.

"When did you get here?" She asked as they broke apart.

"Just now. I wanted to surprise you."

"Well you did. Good job. So, how long are you here for?"

"Not long."

"Oh." Brooke said dissapointedly.

"I'm not going to be in town long because, with the holidays coming up, I thought it'd be cool if we went to Tree Hill since we haven't been there in a year." Jake said.

"Oh my God, really?!"

"Yup."

"Oh Jake, that's great!"

"So does that mean you want to go?"

"Of course I want to go! How long are we going there for? I mean, I can take off for like as long as I want, I am the boss after all. Plus, it's not like I can't do Hoes-over-Bros from the store in Tree Hill, but what about you?" Brooke asked.

"I say we stay for a month. About 2 weeks after New Years."

"What about the tour?" Brooke asked.

"The tour is over. For me anyways. I told them that I was going to lay off the tours for at least a year. I haven't been spending as much time as I'd like to spend with my wife."

"Are you sure? I know how much you love what you do."

"Yea but I love you more. I'm still going to be recording my music and stuff just now, no tours. It works for Haley, why not me? Plus, my album reached number 6 on Bilborad's top 100. What more can I ask for?"

"That reminds me..." Brooke said before leaning in and giving Jake a kiss. "Congratulations on number 6. You deserve it."

"Thanks. So, are you happy about all of this?" Jake asked.

"Of course I am!" Brooke happily said as she leapt into Jake's arms.

"Oh my God!" Brooke said as she let go of Jake.

"You say that alot." Jake said, laughing. He looked at the worried look on Brooke's face and was concerned.

"What's wrong Brooke?" He asked.

"Peyton."

"What about Peyton?"

"I invited her and Michael here for Christmas."

"Oh."

"Maybe we can invite them to Tree Hill too." Brooke suggested.

"Um, 3 problems there. 1, she doesn't like going to Tree Hill, actually, she hasn't been there in 4 years. 2, she would end up bringing michael seeing as how that's her fiance. 3, Lucas lives in Tree Hill and Peyton has no idea that he's awake and he would like it to stay that way." Jake said. Brooke thought about this for a moment before she got an idea. Jake could tell she was planning something because she was zoned out and smiling deviously.

"Oh no. No,no. Nonononono. NO. Whatever you have planned, NO." Jake said, shaking his head.

"What are talking about" Brooke asked as if she had no idea what he was talking about.

"You know what I'm talking about. You're planning something. What is it? You know what? I don't want to know. Whatever it is, just forget about it." Jake said sternly.

"I can't forget about it. It's perfect. I convince Peyton to come to Tree Hill with us for the holidays and I make sure that she and Lucas don't see each other until the party we're going to throw because we're all in town at the same time.  
They'll see each other at the party and she'll be happy he's awake and he'll be happy she's there and one thing'll lead to another and I'll be the maid of honor at their wedding which will happen in a year's time." Brooke said, a satisfied grin on her face.

"Great plan Brooke. You just over looked one detail. Peyton is _enagaged_ to _Michael_." Jake said, emphasizing the words engaged and Michael.

"Minor detail."

"Brooke, I know you want to help Lucas and see him happy, I do too, but Peyton is engaged and she is happy and as long as Peyton's happy Luke is too. Just leave it alone."

"Jake, I know you mean well but, I know them. They might act like they're happy but they're not. Atleast not as happy as they can or want to be. Something's missing for both of them and it's each other. Besides, Peyton not knowing about Lucas isn't helping anyone. Remember our wedding?" Brooke asked.

"Yea. Lucas couldn't be my best man let alone come to the wedding because Peyton was going to be there and he didn't want her to see him." Jake said.

"Exactly. Then, Peyton couldn't make it to Karen's wedding because it was on the same day as her art show. We all knew that and that's why we planned it for that day. Karen wanted her there but her son is more important to her. I just want us all to be able to hang out without Lucas trying to avoid Peyton and Peyton being clueless to the fact that Lucas is awake let alone alive." Brooke said. Jake sighed before responding.

"I understand. I'll help. It's about time his secret came out.Besides, I'm tired of keeping them from one another. The only thing that worries me so much is how Lucas will react to Peyton's engagement."

"Well, we'll just have to be there fo him when he finds out. Make sure he doesn't give up."

"I guess. I just hope this works."

"Me too. So how about that breakfast?"

"Right. Come on." Jake said.

"Just let me get my purse and tell Sarah I'm leaving for the day."

"You should tell her you're leaving for the month. Our flight is at 9 in the morning tomorrow." Jake told Brooke.

"Oh. Well then, let's skip breakfast and you go home and pack while I do some last minute work and we can go out to lunch later."

"Alright. Don't forget to call Peyton and ask her to come."

"That's the first thing I'm going to do. I'll see you later baby." Brooke said before giving Jake a peck on the lips.

"See you later gorgeous." Jake said before exiting the office. Brooke went over to her desk and sat down before picking up the phone and dialing the familiar number of one of her best friends.

* * *

**New York City**

Peyton sat at her desk going threw some papers when the phone rang.

"Hello" She answered. She smiled when she heard the familiar voice of Brooke Jagielski.

"Hey P.Sawyer. How's it going?"

"Good B.Jagielski. How are things going with you?"

"Great now that Jake's back."

"Jake's back? That's great. I was hoping he'd be there when we went there for Christmas. Speaking of,  
we're going to be heading down there tomorrow morning."

"Yea, about that. You should change your destination."

"Why is that?"

"Well, because me and Jake are going to Tree Hill and we want you to come." Peyton was silent after she heard this. She hadn't been to Tree Hill in years and she wasn't ready to yet. Sure she missed it but it held too many memories of what she lost. She just wasn't ready to go.

She was torn away from her thoughts by a very impatient Brooke on the other line.

"Peyton are you there? Peyton!"

"Oh, sorry. I guess I zoned out on ya. Look Brooke, I don't think I can go."

"Come on Peyt. you haven't been there in 4 years. You haven't seen your friends and your dad in a year. Why can't you come with us? And don't feed me that crap about how your not ready or it still hurts." Brooke said.

"Brooke, I just don't know if I can."

"You can P. Come on.We miss you. Please?" Brooke said, pleadingly. Peyton thought for a moment. She really did miss her friends and her dad. She sighed knowing she was going to give in. She waited another minute before saying "Fine, I'll go. But I'm bringing Michael and Lauren and I am not going to the hospital to see him."

"You won't have to. Ok so get your tickets for tomorrow morning or early afternoon and tell your boss you'll be gone for a month."

"A month?! Brooke I can't take a month off and niether can Michael." Peyton said, knowing that this wasn't true.

"Yes you can. Your boss is Lauren's dad and Michael is the boss of himself so you both can easily get off."

"Alright fine. I'll see what I can do." Peyton said, silently cursing herself for telling Brooke about her and Michael's jobs.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's going to be very eventful, you'll see. Love ya P.Sawyer! Gotta go, Bye!" With that, Brooke hung up, not even giving Peyton the chance to respond.

Peyton hung up the phone and sighed. She hadn't been to Tree Hill in over 4 years. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to resist the temptation of seeing him. She knew that if she saw him she'd feel bad about leaving him all those years ago and it would only cause pain. Other than that, she thought going back to Tree Hill would be fun. From what Haley had told her, it seemed as though the whole gang was going to be there. Nathan and Hlaey of course, Mouth, Skills, Bevin, even Rachel. Now Brooke and Jake were going to be there too.It seemed the whole gang was going to be together again. 'Except one key member' Peyton thought. Little did she know, that key member was definitly going t be there.

* * *

**Tree Hill High**

"Alright boys, I hope you all have great holidays and make sure you run at least once every other day so you stay in shape. We've got a state championship to win this year so I need all my players in top shape. Now hit the showers!" Nathan Scott, coach of the Tree HIll Ravens,told the team. It was the last practice until vacation was over. They still had a week of school left until vacation officially started but Nathan decided to end practices a little early. He looked at the time and noticed that he was running late. He had to go pick up the kids from the cafe where Karen was watching them. He went to his office and gathered his things before going to pick up the kids.

When he walked into the cafe he saw the twins playing in the children's play area and Ryan ad Emily sitting at a table eating.

"Hi dad." Ryan said to his father when he looked up.

"Hi cousin Nathan." said Emily.

"Hi Daddy!" The twins said happily before going back to playing.

"Karen, I don't know how you do it." He said as he approached the counter.

"Do what?" Karen asked as she wiped the counter down.

"Keep them still and quiet. Usually they're running all over the place."

"Yeah well, I learned early with Lucas."

"Right. Where's Mary and Keith?" Nathan asked.

"Mary's at home. She just got over a cold. She'll be here for dinner though. As for Keith, he's in his crib over there sleeping."

"Oh. Has Haley been by?"

"No. She did call with some very interesting news though."

"What's that?"

"She said Brooke and Jake are coming here for the holidays."

"That's cool. We haven't seen them in months."

"Yeah. Haley also said that, according to Brooke, I have to throw a party at Tric tomorrow night." Karen said.

"Leave it to Brooke to think that her presence deserves a party."

"Apparently it's not just for her. According to Haley it's for the old gang. The_ whole_ old gang." Karen said, emphasizing the word whole.

"When you say whole you don't mean..." Nathan said, trailing off due to Karen nodding her head which answered his question.

"Peyton's coming?" Nathan asked, shocked.

"Apparently. Brooke's come up with this plan to get Lucas and Peyton to see each other. Thus the party. She thinks it'll be better if they're surrounded by friends and family when they see each other. She figures after the initial shock they'll be thrilled to see each other and it'll go from there."

"She obviously over looked the ring on Peyton's finger. Lucas doesn't know about the engagement right?"

"He will by tomorrow night."

"Yeah. My guess is Peyton's going to bring Michael with her."

"Yeah. She is." Karen said. Nathan sighed as he sat on one of the stools.

"Well, this should be a very interesting Christmas." He said. Karen simply nodded.

* * *

"That was great mom, thanks." Lucas said as Karen took his plate away.

Lucas, Karen, Andy, Emily, Mary, Keith, Nathan, Haley, Ryan, Joe, Jeff and John were all together at the cafe for their traditional Friday night dinner. They had just finished eating and the kids were playing as Karen and Andy did dishes and the rest of the adults were talking.

"So I take it Mary is feeling a lot better." Lucas called to Andy.

"Yea. She's doing much better." Andy called back.

"That's good. So John, how's work going?" Luke asked.

"Good.It's going good.It keeps me busy. Yet, not too busy. I still have a life. For instance, a _girlfriend_." John said, emphasizing the word girlfriend.

"John, you don't have a girlfriend" Luke said.

"I use to though. And how many have you had in the past 3 years?" John asked retorically.

"Yea man. I'm with John. You haven't had a single girlfriend since you woke up." Nathan said. Lucas sighed before responding.

"Are we ever going to have a night when this doesn't come up? I'm not ready to date ok? Not yet."

"Luke, you're 23 years old. If you ever want a family you're going to have to start dating." Nathan said.

"Look, I will ok? Just, not yet. At least I'm not still hung up on Peyton."

"Oh please. Yes you are. You named your restaurant Leyton. Combination of Lucas and Peyton." John said, mockingly.

"Yea, that's sweet and all but it's not helping the situation." Nathan said.

"Ok, ok. That's enough. Leave Luke alone. Both of you. Lucas, we have some good news." Haley said.

"What?"

"Well, Brooke and Jake have decided to come visit for the holidays. They'll be here tomorrow morning." Haley said, excitedly.

"That's great! Where are they going to stay? With you?" Luke asked.

"With those three kids in the same house? No way. They're staying with you and John."

"Who says we have room for them?" John asked.

"We do." Lucas said, glaring at John. "They can sleep in one of the spare rooms. This is so cool. Mouth, Skills, Bevin, Brooke, Jake and even Rachel are coming. Where are they all staying?"

"Well, Mouth has no problem staying in a house full of kids so he's going to stay with us.Rachel's staying at her paren'ts house. As for Bevin and Skills, we figured since you have such a big place they could stay with you as well as Brooke and Jake." Haley said.

"Hey, you have a big place too. You've got like 3 guest rooms." John said.

"2. We've got 2 guest rooms and it wouldn't be for the whole duration of their stay. Just for most of it. They'd stay over our place every now and then. Besides, you two are the only ones living in a 5 bedroom house." Nathan said.

"It's fine. Bevin and Skills can stay in one room while Jake and Brooke stay in the other. That leaves the kid's room empty for when they stay over." Lucas said.

"See, it works out perfectly. Besides, knowing you John, you'll probably be in Raleigh with your dad most of the time." Haley said.

"Some of the time yes, most of the time no. I do get vacation time you know."

"Doesn't mean you take it." Nathan said.

"True." John said, smiling.

"Hey, is Jenny coming too?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah. Nikki had her last Christmas so it's Jake's turn. Plus, Nikki and Sean are going on a honeymoon type holiday and they want to be alone so it works out well." Haley told Lucas.

"That's cool. Jenny can stay in the kids room. I put an extra bed in there this past weekend when Emily and her friend stayed over. There's enough room." Lucas said.

"Well yeah. You gave them the biggest room in the house." John said.

"Leave it to the spoiled little rich boy to complain." Nathan said, laughing.

"Hey, I'm not...well yea I am spoiled and rich but you are too. The rich part at least." John said.

"Not as rich as you and money doesn't matter to any of us. We're just glad that we're successful and our dreams came, and are coming, true." Nathan said.

"Thanks to me." John said cockily.

"No, thanks to Lucas and Andy. Lucas is the one that financed all of our businesses and Andy helped us expand them. We payed Andy and Lucas pack when we could and Lucas payed you back." Haley said.

"Which he didn't have to." John said.

"I wanted to. I know it was a gift or whatever but still, I wanted to pay you back and I did." Lucas said.

"And you all have lots of money to spare. Congratulations. You are all successes. I was only joking about the protests. I'm cool with having them stay at the house." John said.

"We know man. We've know you for nearly 3 years. We're kind of used to your cockiness and your fake annoyance." Lucas said.

"Right. Well, I think we should do something for your little gang. A party perhaps?" John suggested.

"We're way ahead of you. We're having a party at Tric tomorrow night." Haley happily said.

"Cool. Is there anything I can do to help?" Lucas asked.

"I'm glad you asked Lucs because we've got a lot planned for you to do tomorrow." Haley said, mischieviously.

"I have a feeling that tomorrow isn't going to be such a fun day for me.Same for the party." Lucas said. They all laughed, Nathan and Haley looking at one another nervously. This party was definitly going to be one to remember.


	7. Returning Home Pt2

Sorry it took me so long to UD. School's had me kind of busy lately. N e wayz, here's chapter 7. I already have chapter 8 written ,I just need to type it so it shouldn't take too long for me to put it up. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and please review!!

* * *

"Lucas!"

"Hey Brooke. It's good to see you." Lucas said as Brooke and Jake approached him. Brooke let go of her bags and hugged Lucas.

"It's good to see you too." Brooke said, still hugging him. They broke apart and Lucas turned to Jake.

"Hey man. It's good to see you." Jake said, extending his hand out.

"It's good to see you too man." Lucas said, taking his hand and pulling him in for a hug. They broke apart and Lucas looked at the little girl next to Jake.

"Woah, woah, woah. Who's this?" Lucas said.

"Uncle Luke, it's me, Jenny!" The little girl said, laughing.

"No way. You're not Jenny. You can't be." Lucas said in mock disbelief.

"I am." Jenny said, still laughing.

"Well look at that. It is you. Come here you little munchkin." Lucas said as he extended his arms. Jenny ran into his arms and gave him a hug as he hugged her back. They broke apart and Lucas smiled at her before turning to Brooke and Jake.

"Alright, so I have to get you all to my place to drop off your things. Then I'll drop you off at the cafe. I would love to stay there and hang out with you guys but my day is really busy. I'll have time to hang out with you at the party though."

"It's alright. We're here for a month. That gives us plenty of time to hang out. Now, grab my bags and let's go." Brooke said, smirking.

"Yes your highness." Lucas said, bowing. Brooke hit him on his arm and walked past him. He smiled before picking up her bags. He then turned around and lead the 3 of them to his car.

He dropped them off at the cafe after they had dropped off their bags at his place. Then, he proceeded to Tric to set up.

* * *

The 3 walked into the cafe and were greeted by Nathan, Haley, Karen, Andy and the kids, who were playing.

"Brooke!" Haley yelled in excitement as soon as she saw her.

"Hey Hales." Brooke said as she walked up to Haley and gave her a hug. They broke apart and the rest of the group exchanged hellos and hugs. Then, the kids went to play while the adults sat and talked.

"So, is everything set up?" Brooke asked Haley.

"Almost. Luke is at Tric setting up. He'll be calling in another hour to tell me that we don't have any more drinking glasses. I'll tell him to go to Raleigh and pick some up. He'll complain and I'll convince him to go. John will go too so he can make sure Luke stays for a while. By the time he gets back, the party will have been started. I'll meet him at the door and when you give the signal I'll tell him to close his eyes and I'll walk him over to the group where Peyton'll be with her eyes closed and then on the count of three we'll tell them to open their eyes and we'll see from there." Haley said, taking in one big breath after she finished.

"Good. So, where'd you put the glasses?" Brooke asked Haley.

"They're here. We're going to bring them back when we go."

"So why is it going to take him an hour to figure out that the glasses are missing?" Jake asked.

"Because most of the party preperation we have him doing isn't around the bar. Plus, John's with him and he's gonna make sure that Lucas doesn't find out for another hour." Haley answered.

"Wow. You've got this planned out well." Jake said.

"Yeah well it's all thanks to your wife. She's the one that came up with this whole thing.  
She's an evil genius." Haley said.

"That I am. So, who's picking up Peyton, Michael and Lauren?" Brooke asked.

"Me and Nathan. We're bringing them here first so we can all hang out. Then, we're gonna take them to the Sawyer house where they'll be staying." Haley answered.

"Good. That means everything is taken care of. See, I told you this would work." Brooke said, satisfied by her working plan.

* * *

Nathan and Haley stood outside waiting for Peyton, Michael and Lauren to arrive.  
Brooke and Jake took the kids to the park while they went to pick them up. Lucas hadn't called yet about the cups and Haley was getting a little nervous.

"Hales, calm down. I'm sure he'll call." Nathan told his wife, trying to calm her nerves.

"I know. I just don't want him to call while we're with...Peyton!" Haley said, a nervous smile appearing on her face as she saw Peyton approaching them.

"Hey!" Peyton said excitedly as she walked up to Haley and gave her a hug.

"I'm so glad your here! We missed you!" Haley said as she hugged Peyton.

"I missed you guys too." Peyton said as she and Haley broke apart. She turned to Nathan and gave him a hug.

"It's good to have you back Sawyer." Nathan said as they pulled apart.

"Good to be back." She said, smiling. Behind her, Lauren was growing impatient so she cleared her throat loudly to get Peyton's attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Guys, this is Lauren and you both remember Michael from Brooke and Jake's wedding. Laur, Mike, this is Nathan and Haley." Peyton said.

"Hi. It's nice to finally meet you both." Lauren said, extending her hand to Haley, who shook it, and Nathan, who also shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too." They both said. Michael walked up to Haley and said "It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise." Haley said, shaking his hand.

"It's nice to see you too Nathan." He said, offering his hand to Nathan.

"Yea, same." Nathan said as he shook Michael's hand.

"So where's Brooke? I would've thought she would come too." Peyton said.

"She and Jake took the kids to the park." Nathan said. Peyton was about to say something when Haley's phone rang. She took it out and looked at the number on the phone.

"Excuse me." She said as she turned away from the group to answer the phone.

"Hello."

"Hales it's Lucas. Where the hell are the galsses?"

"They're not there?" Haley asked, trying to sound surprised.

"No. They aren't. Not one." An aggravated Lucas responded.

"Well then you are going to have to go get some."

"What?! There's no place in Tree Hill that sells them. These are special glasses. We got them from Raleigh."

"Then you're going to have to go to Raleigh."

"Raleigh?! If I go there it'll take me all day. I'll probably be late to the party"  
Lucas complained.

"Well we can't have a party without glasses. Look, just go to rally and get about 3 dozen glasses. If you leave now you'll be back with plenty of time before the party."

"But..."

"Please?" Haley cut him off. Lucas sighed rather loudly before giving in.

"Fine, but I don't wanna go alone."

"Take John."

"Fine, whatever."

"Thank you! You're a life saver."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye." Haley said. Then she hung up the phone and turned around to find the 4 others looking back at her.

"Who was that?" Peyton asked.

"Umm...that uh...that was...John. John. My friend John, our friend John. John." Haley said nervously.

"Oh. Is everything ok?"

"Oh yea. Just a little mix up. Ok so, let's get out of here." Haley said, then she turned around and started walking away as the others looked at each other questioningly before following her.

* * *

The 5 of them walked into the cafe and were greeted by a happy Karen.

"Peyton!" Karen said as they walked in.

"Karen!" Peyton said excitedly as she walked over to Karen and gave her a hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you." Karen said as they broke apart.

"It's good to see you too. Where's Andy?"

"He took Keith home to change his clothes. I forgot to bring an extra pair and he spit up on them." Karen told Peyton.

"Oh, ok. Well let me introduce you to my friend and fiance." Peyton said, waving Michael and Lauren over.

"This is Lauren and you remember Michael right?"

"Yes. Hi, I'm Karen. It's nice to meet you Lauren. Nice seeing you again Michael." Karen said, extending her hand. They all shook hands and then Peyton spoke.

"So when's Brooke gonna be back?"

"Right now." Karen said, pointing behind Peyton. Peyton turned around and as soon as she did...

"P.Sawyer!" You're here!" A very excited Brooke said as soon as she walked into the cafe.

"B.Davis!" Peyton excitedly said as she half ran, half walked over to Brooke and embraced her in a hug.

"P.Sawyer, I missed you soo much."

"I missed you too B.Davis. It's good to see you."

"It's great to see you." Brooke said as they pulled apart. Brooke was about to say something else when the bell on the cafe door chimed and a bunch of kids came running in.

"Thanks for abandoning me Brooke." Jake said as he walked into the cafe.

"I'm sorry babe but I saw Nathan's car and I knew Peyton was here so I had to come right away."

"Well, since it was because of Peyton you're forgiven. Hey Peyt." Jake said.

"Hey Jake. It's good to see you." Peyton said as she gave Jake a hug.

"It's good to see you too." Jake said as they pulled apart.

"Peyton." Haley said. Peyton turned to her. "Yea?"

"I would like you to meet Joe and Jeff. You saw them when they were a few months old but they're 1 now. Also, you remember Ryan. Boys, this is your aunt Peyton and her friend Lauren and fiance Michael. Say hi."

"Hi" The twins said simultaneously and in a shy manner.

"Hi aunt Peyton." Ryan said with a smile on his face.

"Hey boys. Look at you all. You got so big." Peyton said, smiling at the boys. Lauren and Michael smiled as well.

"Ok, my turn. Peyton you remember Emily and Mary. Mary, you don't remeber her but this is Peyton. Emily, you know Peyton. Those two right there are her friends Lauren and Michael. Say hi." Karen said.

"Hi peyon!" Mary happily said.

"Peyton!" Emily said, running into Peyton's arms.

"Hey Mary and Hey Em! Wow, look at you. You're growing up so fast. How are you?"

"Good. I missed you."

"Well I missed you too Em." Peyton said. She put Emily down and looked towards Jenny.

"Hey Jen. Can I get a hug?" She asked. Jenny walked up to Peyton and gave her a hug.

"I missed you aunt Peyton."

"I missed you too kiddo. Have you been good for daddy and Brooke?"

"Yes."

"Good" Peyton said as she stood up and looked toward Brooke.

"So what now?" She asked.

"Now, we all sit and catch up for a bit." Brooke said. They all walked over to a table and sat down and talked as the kids played.

They sat talking for the next four hours. They talked about what's been going on these past few years and how everyone was doing. It was hard for Nathan, Haley, Karen, Jake and Brooke to not bring up Lucas considering he is such a big part of their lives.  
Each of them almost slipped up and said something about him but caught themselves before they did. Emily came up to the group and asked where Lucas was. They covered it up by saying she was talking about little Lucas. Peyton was suspicious of course because Ryan was just playing with her, but she brushed it off. They all wanted to tell Peyton about Lucas right then and there but they didn't. One thing was for sure, Peyton was definitly going to find out tonight, and they were all thankful for that.

* * *

"See ya tonight!"

"See ya! Don't be late!" Brooke called out to Peyton as she, Michael and Lauren left the cafe with Nathan to go to the Sawyer residence.

"So what time will Luke be back?" Brooke asked Haley.

"John called an hour ago. He said they should be back by 8."

"Great. That gives us 2 hours of fun before all hell breaks loose. Scratch that. 4 hours of fun. The party doesn't start for another 2 hours. Then, we'll have 2 hours to party before all hell breaks loose." Jake said.

"It's not gonna be that bad." Brooke said.

"You're right. It's gonna be worse. I'm telling you both Lucas and Peyton are gonna be pissed. Peyton more so."

"Well I'd rather them be pissed now then 10 years in the future when Peyton's married and Lucas has been awake for nearly 14 years without her knowing."

"I still can't believe she doesn't know and he's been awake for nearly 4 years." Haley said.

"And that's why she's gonna be pissed." Jake said.

"Ugh, whatever. Let's just see how it plays out ok?" Brooke said.

"Fine." Both Jake and Haley said in unison.

"Great. Now, we have to go pick up the rest of the group. Let's go."

**

* * *

**

**Tric**

"So when's your dad gonna get here Peyt?"

"Im not sure. I think sometime tonight or tomorrow." Peyton answered Haley's question.

"Ok."

"Yo, dis party is tight. You did a godd job here Haley." Skills said.

"Actually, Brooke's the one who planned it. I just helped do some of the decorating."

"Still, this party is on and poppin'"

"You haven't changed a bit Skills." Peyton said, laughing.

"So is everyone staying until New Years?" Mouth asked.

"I'm not. I'm going to New York with some friends from back home the day after Christmas"  
Rachel said.

"Aww, too bad. We'll mis ya!" Brooke said, sarcastically.

"Bite me."

"You wish"

"Oh yeah. Some things never change." Haley said as the group began to laugh.

The party had started 2 hours ago. The whole gang, with the exception of Lucas, had made it to the party and were hanging out and having fun. The kids were running around in the back room where there was some toys and a tv that Karen had Lucas set up for them. Karen had a small camera and a baby monitor behind the bar so she could keep an eye on them.

Everyone was having a good time while they could considering Lucas would be there soon and all hell was going to break loose. It was around 8:30 when Haley got the call. John told her they were parking the car. She told Brooke who told the rest of the gang and they all casually gathered around Peyton, with the exception of Haley who went to meet Lucas and John at the door.

"Hey Luke, John." She said as they walked in.

"Don't hey me.You had me go all the way to Raleigh to get glasses and for what? Looks like you have plenty here."

"We just found them before the party."

"And ya couldn't call and tell me?"

"You can never have too many glasses." John said.

Yea, right, well these glasses are going to my restaurant." Lucas said.

"Then why'd you bring them up here?" Haley asked. Lucas glared at Haley and she laughed as she shook her head. She looked over to Brooke and Brooke nodded her head. That meant they were ready.

"Ok, Lucas, we've got a surprise for you. Close your eyes."

"What? Why?" Lucas asked, slightly laughing, as he put the glasses down.

"Just do it."

"Alright." Luke said as he closed his eyes. Haley walked up behind him and put her hands over his eyes.

"Just so you won't cheat." She told him. "Ok, walk straight."

* * *

"Ok Peyt, we've got a surprise for you. Close your eyes." Brooke said.

"What?"

"Just close your eyes."

"Alright, fine." Peyton said as she closed her eyes. Nathan put his hands over her eyes and said "Just in case you try to cheat."

* * *

"Are we almost there?" Lucas asked.

"Just about and be quiet."

"Alright, alright. Sheesh."

* * *

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"No, and stop talking." Brooke said sternly.

"Ok, ok. Sheesh." Haley approached the group with Lucas and they all got ready for what was about to come.

"Alright, on the count of three open your eyes." Brooke said. She looked over at Haley who gave her a comforting smile. They both counted.

"One...Two...Three!" As soon as they said 3, Nathan and Haley took their hands away from in front of Lucas and Peyton's eyes. Lucas and Peyton opened their eyes at the same time. it took them both a few seconds for their eyes to get readjusted to the light but as soon as they did, they instantly knew who they were standing in front of.

"Peyton." Lucas said, shocked.

"Lucas?" Peyton slightly whispered in a shocked and surprised tone of voice. Then, the next thing she knew , darkness had enveloped her.


	8. Arguing

_Ok, so, I'm sorry it took me so long to UD. I had this chapter written out when I posted chp.7 but I reread it and well, it stunk. lol. So, I had to rewrite the whole chapter and this is what I came up with. I want to thank all of you for R&R'ing. It really motivates me to hurry and finish the next chapter. I love coming on and seeing the reviews. They let me know that I'm doing and good job. Thank you all for reviews and please keep it up!_

* * *

"Peyton!" Michael said, rushing to her side. She had just fainted due to the shocked silent man who was standing in front of her. Lucas looked at Brooke with tears welling in his eyes. He shook his head before turning around and running out of the club.

"Lucas!" Brooke called after him.

"Don't worry, we'll talk to him." Jake said. Him and Nathan ran out after Lucas. Brooke looked back over at Peyton and saw that she was regaining conciousness.

"Wha...what happened?"

"I don't know babe. you just fainted after you said that guy's name." Michael said while rubbing Peyton's back.

"Guy, guy...what guy?" She asked.

"I don't know. Lucas I think you said."

"Lucas." Peyton said, remembering what happened. She angrily looked up at Brooke and Haley and said "You two, bathroom, NOW!" She got up and brushed pass them as they looked at each other with worried expressions before following her.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?! What is she doing here?!" An angry Lucas asked Jake and Nathan. 

"Well Brooke invited her to Savannah for the holidays and I surprised brooke with this trip so we decided to invite Peyton." Jake said.

"And you didn't tell me because..." Lucas said, trailing off.

"Because we knew you wouldn't like it. We figured you'd just make an excuse to leave town or something like that. We wanted everyone here for the holidays, together." Nathan told Lucas.

* * *

"Ok, what the hell is going on?! How...when..." Peyton took a deep breath and then another before asking again. 

"What's going on? When did he wake up?"

"Wouldn't you rather ask a more simple question?" Brooke said, hoping Peyton wouldn't read too much into it.

"That is a simple question. What else would I ask? Don't answer that." Peyton said,  
seeing that Brooke was about to respond.

"Peyt, just know that we all wanted to tell you. It was just that we made a promise"  
Haley said, trying to reason with Peyton.

"Haley, just tell me." Peyton said, impatiently. Brooke and Haley looked at each other before saying in unison

"3 years and 10 months ago."

* * *

"You still should've told me, warned me, so I'd be better prepared for this." Lucas said. 

"If we would've said something to you about it you would've tried talking us out of it or threatened to leave. That's what you always do and we're tired of it. You can't leave now,  
it's too late. She's seen you." Jake said.

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out. She _passed out_ because of _me_." Lucas said, emphasizing the words passed out and me.

* * *

"3 yea...3 years and...10 months? 3 years and 10 months! Are you kidding me?!" Peyton angrily shouted. "You've been lying to me for nearly 4 years?! How could you?!" 

"Peyton, we didn't want to. We promised Luke. We wanted to tell you as soon as he woke up but he made us promise not to." Brooke said.

"4 years Brooke! You had 4 years to tell me. Promise or no promise you should've told me!"

"Well technically it hasn't been 4 years yet." Brooke said, trying to lighten the mood up a bit.

"You've got to be kidding me. You're making jokes now, at a time like this? Unbelievable!"

* * *

"Well can you blame her? She thought you were in a coma for the past 4 years. It must've been a real shock for her to see you standing there alive let alone awake." Nathan said. 

"It hasn't been 4 years yet." Lucas mumbled.

"Well it's been damn near close to it and we're tired of all this sneaking around." Nathan said.

"You aren't sneaking around."

"Not anymore now that she knows but we were before now." Jake said.

"Oh? And how may I ask so?"

* * *

"Pey, I wasn't trying to bo funny. I'm sorry." Brooke said. 

"You should be! I can't believe you of all people would lie to me!" Peyton yelled.

"Peyton, I'm so sorry. I was only trying to keep my promise."

"Yeah Peyton, we were only trying to keep our promise. We didn't mean to hurt you." Haley said, finally speaking up.

"And yet you did. Thanks a lot guys. Now I know who my real friends are."

"Peyton, don't be like that. We made a promise." Brooke said.

"A promise that you knew would hurt me!"

"Peyton we didn't mean to hurt you. We were cought between two friends. We didn't know what to do." Haley said.

"So you chose to hurt me instead of tell me the truth?"

"No. That's not it." Brooke said.

"Then explain this to me because I really don't understand how my 2 best friends could lie to me for 4 years." Peyton said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ok, so, here's how it goes..."

* * *

"For the past 3 year and 10 months we've been keeping you a secret from Peyton. We've been lying to one friend for another. She's had to miss important events in our life so you could make them and vice versa. She missed your mom's wedding because you had to be there and plan it on the same day as her first art show. You couldn't make it to mine and Brooke's wedding because she had to be there. Almost 4 years we've been lying. We're tired of it." Jake said.

* * *

"...When Lucas woke up he asked for you and Karen told him that you were in New York. She also told him that she'd call you for him but he told her not to. He made her promise and once we got there he made us promise too. We weren't going to but he said it was only temporary. As soon as he got better he was suppose to surprise you but it took longer than expected. It took him a year to get a clean bill of health. By that time, you and Michael had been dating for a year. When I first got the call that you and Michael were going out on a date we were all nervous but I convinced everyone that it wouldn't last. We saw how happy you were with Michael and we didn't want to ruin that for you. So when Lucas was about to leave to tell you he was awake we all got together and told him about you and Michael. He was heartbroken but he understood. Still, though he understood, he didn't want you to know about him. He thought it might ruin your happiness. He asked us to promise not to tell you. We really didn't want to but, the look in his eyes when he asked us to just made us give in. He really didn't want to ruin anything for you. We could've told you and we know we should've but, we promised. For something this important we usually wouldn't have kept our promise for so long but, you did seem really happy, and you still do,  
except for right this moment. Anyways, we got tired of all this lying so we decided it was time for you to find out. We know it's nearly 4 years too late but, you know what they say, better late than never." Brooke said. She changed the part where Lucas saw Peyton and Michael together to they all got together to tell him. She figured Lucas should tell her that part. 

Peyton looked to the floor as tears began to well in her eyes once again. She looked up at Brooke and Haley and said...

* * *

"You never should've put us in that position." Nathan said. 

"And what position is that?" Lucas asked bitterly.

"The position of choosing between two friends." Jake answered.

"I never made you choose."

"Are you kidding me? Are you really that naive? Do you really think that you didn't make us choose? Because if you do than you really are stupid." Nathan said, his anger rising.

"Excuse me? Did you just...did you just call me stupid?" Lucas said, balling his hands into a fist as his anger rose. He was about to approach Nathan when he heard laughter. Him and Nathan both looked over to see Jake laughing.

"What's so funny?" Lucas angrily asked.

"You two. You're starting to argue like ten year olds. Calling Lucas stupid and Lucas getting ready to kick your ass. It's hilarious." Jake said, still laughing. Nathan shook his head and chuckled a bit as Lucas began to say "Well, Nathan's the one who was getting mad for no reason. He doesn't even have the right to be mad."

"Are you kidding me? I don't have the right? You're the one that doesn't have the right..."

* * *

"You two were the 2 people I trusted more than anyone and you lied to me. You shouldn't have lied to me, even if you promised someone else. You knew it would hurt me in the long run and you still lied. I can't just forget that. Do you know how much that hurts?" 

"Peyton, I don't think there's anything else we can say to let you know that we are truly sorry. We really are." Haley said.

"I know you are but that doesn't change the fact that you lied to me, for years. I just don't get why you would do that, even if you made a promise. It's like you made a promise to hurt me. I just...I can't be here right now. I need time."

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked.

"I have to let this all sink in."

"Peyton, you can't go. You have to talk to him." Brooke said.

"I don't have to do anything." Peyton said, her voice rising.

"Pey, come on, don't be like this."

"Like what Brooke? Angry? Sad? What?!"

"Peyton just calm down." Haley said.

"Calm down? I've been lied to by my best friends! I have a right to be pissed!" Peyton said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She then opened her eyes and said...

* * *

"...You've been keeping yourself secret from Peyton for early 4 years knowing that it would hurt her when she found out. You knew that she'd have to find out eventually but you still didn't tell her. We finally got tired of lying to her and she now knows the truth and your mad because of it. You have no right to be mad because we told the truth.  
If anyone should be mad it's Peyton not you." Nathan said. 

"But you lied to me. You didn't tell me she was going to be here." Lucas said.

"Yeah, but you lied to her and made us lie to her for 4 years. Who do you think should really be mad? You, us, or Peyton?" Nathan asked.

"I didn't make you lie. You promised. You knew what I was asking of you and you agreed."

"And now we're fixing our mistake." Jake said.

* * *

"I can't be here anymore. I've got to go." 

"Peyton please just, just stay. Please?" Brooke pleaded.

"I can't."

"Why not?" Haley asked.

"Because if I stay, I might say something I'll regret. Right now I can't be here with either of you. It hurts too much to know that you've lied to me for so long about something so big." Peyton said before walking towards the door.

"Peyton." Brooke said. Peyton turned around to look at the 2.

"Will you...Can you forgive us?"

"Don't ask me that right now."

"Why not?"

"Because you won't like the answer." Peyton said. She turned back to the door and opened it. She gave them one last sad look before walking out and closing the door behind her.

She walked up to Michael, who was talking with John and Lauren, and told him she wanted to leave.

"Are you feeling okay?" Michael asked.

"No. I have a headache. I just really want to lay down." Peyton said.

"Ok then. Sure, let's go."

"What about Lauren?"

"I'll take her home if she's not ready. If that's okay with you that is." John said, looking at Lauren.

"That's fine." Lauren said, smiling.

"Ok then. You ready Peyton?" Michael asked.

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

"Fine, whatever. I can't be here right now. I'm leaving." Lucas said before he turned around and started walking away. 

"Luke man, come on. You just got here." Jake called out. Lucas just kept on walking to his car.

"You can't run forever Luke. You're going to have to face her sometime!" Nathan yelled to Lucas.  
Lucas had reached his car and gotten in. He backed out of the parking space and sped out out of the club's parking lot.

"Should one of us go after him?" Jake asked.

"No. Give him time to cool off. Let's go see how the girls are doing. Maybe they had better luck with Peyton."

The two of them walked back into the club only to find Peyton leaving.

"Hey, where are you going?" Nathan asked.

"Home." Peyton mumbled as she brushed pass them.

"She's not feeling well so I'm going to take her home. Sorry we couldn't stay longer." Michael said before following Peyton.

The two guys turned back around and saw Brooke and Haley walking out of the bathroom with sad looks on their faces. They walked over to them.

"Hey, what happened?" Nathan asked.

"Let's just say we've got a lot of begging to do." Brooke said.

"Yeah, it didn't go so well with Luke either." Jake said.

"He left too didn't he?" Haley asked.

"Yup. Sped out of the parking lot and took off." Nathan said.

"Well I guess we should just let them be for tonight. Besides, I'm not up for anymore arguing"  
Haley said.

"I agree. So I guess we should atleast try to enjoy the rest of the party." Nathan said.

"It's no use. No way we'll enjoy the party after that." Brooke said. They all silently agreed, knowing that they wouldn't be able to have any fun knowing that their 2 best friends were upset.

* * *

**So there it is. I know I probably could've done better with the arguements but I kind of had writers block so I just wrote whatever came to me. This is going to be a 2 parter so there will be more arguing in the next chapter. Ok so I hope you liked this chapter and Please Review!**


	9. Talking

_Ok, let me first and foremost say that I am SO SO SO SO SORRY it took me this long to UD this. I had some major writers block for this chapter. I had an idea of what to write but I just couldn't find the words for it. The suggestions helped me alot. I want to thank you all for reviewing. Your reviews are what keeps me writing. Thank you all for being patient with me. Hopefully I won't have such a hard time writing the next chapter and I'll be able to UD it soon. Once again, I am so sorry for the wait and I hope you like this chapter and please review!! _

* * *

"How'd you get in here?"

"I used the spare key you gave me."

"Remind me to get that back." Lucas bitterly said to Haley. She and Brooke went over to Lucas' house to talk to him.

"Lucas, I really don't get why you're mad." Haley said.

"You don't get why I'm mad? Well join the club. Neither do I." Lucas said, sighing and putting his head in his hands. Brooke and Haley looked at each other with confusion written all over their faces.

"Wait, what?" Brooke asked. Lucas sighed before speaking.

"I'm not mad at you two. Or Nathan or Jake. The only person I'm mad at is myself. I shouldn't have made all of you lie. I'm glad you told Peyton. It sucked having to miss your's and Jake's wedding and I know my mom really wanted Peyton at her's and Andy's wedding. Though I may not have acted like it last night, making you all choose made me feel bad. I'm really sorry about that. I just, wish you would've told me you were going to invite her." Lucas said, sincerity apparent in his voice.

"We thought it'd have a better effect if it was a surprise." Brooke said, jokingly, as she took a seat next to Lucas.

"Oh yeah it did." Lucas said, slightly laughing.

"Well atleast we don't have to sneak around and be careful of what we say anymore. And neither do you. The sneaking around part that is." Haley said, sitting on the other side of Lucas.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So, how mad is she?"

"She's pretty pissed. Nate and Jake are with her now trying to talk to her. Hopefully they'll get through to her." Haley said.

"Well if I know Peyton, and I do, there's only one person who can fix this." Brooke said.

"I know what you're getting at but, I'm not ready to face her. Not yet." Lucas said,  
standing.

"Lucas you're going to have to talk to her sometime. You can't put this off now that she knows." Brooke said.

"I know I just...I need time to think, sort things out." Lucas said while putting on his jacket.

"You can't run forever Luke. The longer you wait, the harder it'll be." Haley said.

"Yeah I know. That's why I'm so afraid." With that, Lucas grabbed his keys and left.

Brooke turned to Haley and said "I wonder how the guys are doing with Peyton." Haley nodded her head as to say 'me too.'

* * *

"Maybe we should give her more time to cool off." 

"Are you scared Jagielski?" Nathan asked, laughing.

"Hell yeah. Peyton's scary when she's angry."

"Don't I know it." Nathan said. The two men were standing just outside of the Sawyer residence contemplating whether or not they should go in. Brooke and Haley thought it'd be a good idea if the guys tried to talk to Peyton this time. They figured if she saw that they were all sorry she'd loosen up.

"So, who's going to ring the bell?" Nathan asked.

"HA, and you said I was scared. I'll do it." Jake said. They walked onto the porch and Jake rang the bell. They waited a few seconds before Larry opened the door.

"Hey Nathan, Jake, it's good to see you both."

"Mr.Sawyer, when did you get in?" Nathan asked.

"Late last night. Though not too late to have my daughter slam her room door on my face.  
I'm guessing she knows."

"Yeah, she found out last night. It didn't go well but it went better than I originally thought. No blood shed." Jake joked. The three men laughed a little.

"Well, come on in. She's up in her room. She's alone. Michael's in the kitchen and Lauren's still asleep." Larry said.

"Tell Michael not to eat too much. We're going for breakfast in 2 hours. Everyone'll be there." Nathan said as he walked into the house and started walking past Larry.

"We hope." Jake added as he walked into the house and past Larry.

"Right. I'll tell him. Oh, boys." Larry said. Nathan and Jake turned to look at him. "Good luck." Larry said. The boys smiled at him and continued up the stairs and to Peyton's room.

Jake knocked on the door and the 2 men waited for an answer. They didn't get one.

"Peyton come on. We know your in there." Nathan said. Once again, they waited for an answer which didn't come.

"Alright, fine. We're coming in." Nathan said. They walked in her room and saw her sitting at her desk, drawing. She didn't turn around when she heard the door open. She just sat there drawing. Nathan slowly walked up behind her.

"Peyton? Peyt? Talk to us, please." He said, kneeling beside her.

"What's there to talk about? The people I thought were my friends really aren't because they lied to me for years about something big and friends don't do that to friends so, there's not much to say after that." Peyton said coldly, not bothering to look up.

"Peyton, it's not like that. We didn't want to lie to you we just..."

"You just chose to." Peyton bitterly said, cutting Nathan off. She put her pen and notepad on her desk, stood up and walked over to her bed. Nathan sighed and looked up at Jake. Jake nodded knowing it was his turn to speak.

"Peyton please, just listen to us."

"Why should I?" Peyton asked facing the 2. Her eyes were glassy due to the tears threatening to come out.

"I don't know." Jake said.

"What?"

"I said, I don't know. I don't know why you should listen to us. We don't deserve to be heard. We lied to you for years and now we want you to forgive us. We shouldn't be forgiven so easily. We know we shouldn't, but we still want to be. Look, there's nothing we can say or do to get you to forgive us so, we'll leave you alone. But before we go we want you to know that we are truly, deeply sorry and we hope that you'll see it in your heart to forgive us." With that, Jake walked out of the room.

Nathan got up and started walking towards the door. Just before he walked out he turned to Peyton, who was facing the other way, and said "We're all gonna meet at the cafe for breakfast in a little under 2 hours. We hope you'll come." He was about to turn around and walk away when he stopped and turned to Peyton once again.

"You know, Peyton, I don't think you're really mad at us for lying to you. I think you're mad at yourself for not knowing and not bothering to find out." With that, he turned around and left her room.

Five minutes after they left, Michael walked into Peyton's room only to find a note on her bed saying _'I had to clear my head. I'll be back later. Go to breakfast without me.'_ Michael went downstairs where Larry met him at the bottom.

"How is she?" He asked.

"I don't know. She left." Michael said, showing Larry the note.

"She must've snuck out the back door." Larry said.

"I hope she's ok." Michael said.

"I'm sure she's fine. She's a big girl. She'll be ok." Larry said before walking away.

"I hope so." Michael whispered to himself.

* * *

Peyton didn't know where to go so she just drove. She drove all around Tree Hill with her music blaring. She drove for about an hour trying to clear her head. She decided to go to the Rivercourt and sit for awhile since it was early and she figured no one would be there. As she approached the Rivercourt she noticed a car parked there. As she drove closer she recognized the car to be none other than Lucas' car. She was about to keep going straight when she looked out onto the court. Her eyes grew wide as she saw him laying on the court motionless. She immediately turned the steering wheel and drove up to the court. She parked her car next to Luke's and ran out, leaving her door open. She ran out onto the court and knelt beside him. She lifted his head up and as soon as she did... 

"AHHHHHHHH!!"

"AHHHHHHHH!!" She screamed and immediately let his head go. His head hit the concrete ground and he screamed again.

"AHHHH! Damnit! What the hell are you doing? Trying to scare me to death?" He yelled as he stood to his feet.

"Me? You're the one that scared me!" Peyton yelled back.

"Wait, Peyton?" He said as he finally looked at the woman who scared him. "Umm...What uh, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Well I was riding around in my car clearing my head when I decided to stop here. I saw your car and was going to keep going when I saw you laying on the court. I thought something had happened." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest nervously.

"Oh, well, I'm fine. I was just thinking." Lucas said, putting his hands in his pocket nervously.

"Thinking? You were laying in the middle of the court thinking?" Peyton asked mockingly.

"Yes. Thinking. It's really peaceful out here in the mornings. I guess I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't hear you pull up. Then again, you forgot to close your car door so I didn't hear it slam." Lucas said as he pointed over to her car. She looked over and noticed her door was open. She looked back over to Lucas and said...

"Yea well I thought you had collapsed so I forgot to close it."

"I didn't know you still cared." Lucas said.

"Why would you think I don't care?" Peyton asked.

"Never mind." They both stood in an awkward silence for a few moments. Peyton was the one to break that silence.

"Well, I should be going...Now that I know you're ok. I guess I'll uh...See you around"  
She began to walk to her car when Lucas said "Or you could stay." Peyton turned around and looked expectantly at Lucas.

"Well, I'm sure you've got a lot to say. You probably want to yell at me so, go ahead."

He was right and she knew it. She wanted to yell at him and make him feel all the pain she felt when she found out about him being awake. But when she looked into his eyes, all the things she wanted to say escaped her.

"I'm not really in the yelling mood." She said.

"Well we could talk instead. If you want." Peyton thought for a moment before accepting his offer.

"Great. Let's sit." Lucas said, pointing to the bench. They both walked over and sat. There was nothing but silence for the first few seconds until Lucas spoke.

"So uh...how've you been?"

"I've been pretty good. Good job. Good home. Good friends. Oh wait, my friends lied to me for the past 4 years. Well, 2 out of 3 is good." Peyton bitterly said.

"So much for not being in the yelling mood." Lucas mumbled.

"I'm not. That doesn't mean I can't be mad though."

"I know. You have every right to be mad. Just don't stay mad at the others. They were put in a tight spot. They wanted to tell you, they really did, but I was being a jackass and made them promise not to tell you."

"You didn't make them. I doubt you held a gun to their heads and forced them to sign some agreement saying that if they tell me they'd get shot." Peyton sarcastically said.

"You're right. It was actually a knife and they'd get stabbed not shot." Peyton looked at Lucas who was smiling and she couldn't help but laugh. Lucas laughed along with her.

"There's that smile I've been waiting to see." Lucas said.

"Shut up. Loser." Peyton Jokingly said.

"Loser? Now I'm a loser?"

"Oh you've always been a loser." Peyton said. She and Lucas laughed for a few seconds. When the laughing began to subside, Lucas spoke.

"Well, that was almost like old times."

"Yeah, almost." Peyton said, laughing slightly.

"It was a good reminder." He said. Peyton nodded and looked to the ground.

"Maybe one day we can get to where we were. The friends part I mean." Lucas said.

"We've never been just friends."

"There's a first time for everything." Peyton looked into Lucas' eyes and nodded her head. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like forever but was only moments. Lucas was the one to break the contact.

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm really hungry. What do you say we go meet the gang at the cafe. They're all probably there and wondering where we are." Lucas said as he stood up.

"I don't know. I don't think I should."

"Come on Peyt. If you could laugh and joke around with me already then you should be partying with the rest of them. I'd rather you hate and ignore me then hate and ignore them." Lucas said.

"I don't hate them it's just...They lied to me for years and..." She trailed off and thought for a moment before saying "I don't know. I guess I might've been a little harsh on them last night. Plus, they were only trying to be good friends. Even if it meant hurting me, I know they only did it for my own good. It just hurts to know that they,all of you, have been lying to me."

"What would you have done if you knew I was awake when it first happened?"

"I would've came back for you." Peyton said, looking Lucas in the eyes.

"Yea and I'm betting you would've stayed with me. It took me a year to get a clean bill of health and I know you would've stuck by me through the whole thing. After I was well I wanted to stay close to my mom and sisters so I went to a college nearby. I know you and I know you would've stayed with me whether I asked you to or not. You wouldn't be where you are now if you knew. You're fulfillng your dreams Peyton and that's all I've ever wanted for you. I know it's wrong and we should have told you, I should have told you but, I didn't want you to throw away your bright future, for me." Lucas said, looking into Peyton's eyes. Peyton looked away and Lucas walked up to her. He turned her head so she'd be looking at him and said "I am so sorry for the pain I must've caused you when you found out and all these years but, don't shut out your friends because of my mistake. Whether you believe it or not, they are your friends and they are sorry. So am I. I'm so sorry Peyt." By now, Peyton had tears falling from her eyes. She knew Lucas was right but it still hurt. Even though it hurt, she figured she should let it go for now. It was in the past and she couldn't change it. It was going to take awhile for her to completely forgive them all but,  
for now, she'd forgive them enough to enjoy this vacation.

"I have to talk to Brooke,Jake,Nathan and Haley." She said as she wiped her eyes.

"Well, they're probably at the cafe. You wanna go?"

"Yeah. I've got my car so I can drive there myself."

"Alright."

"I'll see you there." Peyton said before turning around and walking to her car.

"Yeah, see you there." Lucas said as he watched Peyton drive off.

* * *

**Ok, so I wasn't exactly proud of this chapter. I actually thought it kind of stunk. It was definitly not my best but as I said, I had some major writers block. I know I said there would be more arguments in this chapter but I thought it'd be better if I saved that for later. I had a good idea for that and I wanted some happy moments for awhile before getting back to the arguments but there will definitly be more arguments to come. This chapter doesn't really have many happy moments but there will be in the next few chapters. I hope you all continue to read and review!!**


	10. More Talking

_I know you're probably tired of reading my apologies at the begining of pretty much every chapter but once again I must say, I am so so so sorry for the long wait. I've just been busy lately and I haven't had much time to Uupdate. I'm really sorry. I don't know when the next UD will be. I'll try to get to it every chance I get. I hope you like this chapter and Please Review!! _

* * *

"I don't think they're coming."

"I think that's kind of obvious Hales."

"You know, I really don't get why LUcas is mad."

"He's not mad he just doesn't want to see Peyton."

"That's not gonna be a problem considering she's not here either." Jake said. The whole gang was at the cafe for breakfast. Nathan,Jake,Haley and Brooke were standing outside waiting for Lucas and Peyton while the others were inside.

"Look, maybe we should just go inside. Neither of them are coming." Haley said.

"Yeah, you're right. There's no sense in us missing out on a good time when we've done almost all the apologizing we can." Nathan said.

"Key word almost." Brooke sadly said. Jake was about to say something when they heard a horn honk. They all looked up to see Peyton driving up. She parked her car and got out. She slowly walked towards them and stopped right in front of them. For a few moments there was nothing but silence. Then, Peyton spoke.

"4 years. You've all been lying to me for 4 years. It hurts to know that the people I trusted the most have been lying to me for so long."

"Trusted?" Brooke mumbled.

"Yeah, trusted. I can't trust you anymore. Any of you. You betrayed my trust by lying to me for 4 years. Now, things might seem ok and I'll talk to you guys and hang out with you, but don't think for a second that you are forgiven because you aren't. I came here with the intentions of forgiving you a little but as I drove here I thought about it more and more. You don't deserve to be forgiven, not yet. Since it is the holidays I'll let it go for now so we can enjoy it, and who knows, I might forgive you in the process, but as of right now the trust we had is gone." Peyton said. They all stood in silence letting what Peyton said sink in. They'd be lying if they said they didn't expect it but that didn't make it hurt any less. The silence was broken by a surprisingly happy Lucas.

"Hey. Why's everyone so glum?" He asked looking at all their faces.

"Hey Peyton." He said, looking at Peyton. He waited for her to say something but she didn't speak. She didn't even look at him.

"Peyton what's wrong?" He asked.

"I'll be inside." She said before waking past the group and walking into the cafe.

"What was that about?" Lucas asked.

"We were just wondering the same thing." Haley said.

"Yeah, what was that about? You acted like everything was ok." Nathan said.

"I thought it was. I just saw her at the rivercourt not 15 minutes ago. She didn't yell but she wasn't happy. When she left I thought it was on good terms. We talked and then she said she wanted to talk to you all. I thought she was going to patch things up with you guys. That's why I waited a few minutes before coming. By the looks of things I'd say something's changed."

"I'll say. She told us that she couldn't trust us and that she'll act like everything's ok but it really isn't." Jake told Luke.

"I wonder what changed. I'll go talk to her." Lucas said before walking past them and into the cafe. Jake looked over at Brooke who hadn't spoken since Peyton walked away.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked her. She sniffled a little before answering.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My best friend says she can't trust me anymore and I can't say I blame her. On top of that everytime she looks at me all she's probably thinking about is how much I hurt her so, yeah, I'm fine. Just peachy." Brooke said coldly and yet sadly at the same time before walking into the cafe. Jake sighed before looking over at Nathan and Haley. They gave him a sad smile before the three walked into the cafe.

* * *

Lucas walked into the cafe and looked around for the blonde, curly haired girl. He spotted her sitting with their friends. He walked over to the group and was greeted by Skills.

"Hey Luke. It's 'bout time you got here. Come on, sit your scrawny little ass down."

"I will, but first, Peyton, I need to talk to you."

"Can it wait?" Peyton asked, already knowing what he wanted.

"Not really."

"Alright then. Excuse me everyone." She said as she stood up. The two walked over to the door just as the others were walking in. They walked past them and outside.

"Where do you think they're going?" Haley asked.

"To talk." Nathan said as they began walking to the table.

"What do you want Lucas?"

"I want to know what happened between here and the rivercourt to make you act this way. I thought everything was ok."

"Well it's not ok. You wanna know what changed? I realized that I was giving in. For a second I actually did consider forgiving everyone. I guess the idea of all of us being together and happy out-weighed the anger at the time. But as I thought more about it I felt the pain again. The pain caused by you and Brooke and Haley and everyone else who's been lying to me for the past 4 years. I can't just forget that and I can't forgive either."

"Peyton, listen, they..."

"No you listen." Peyton said cutting him off. "I've been lied to for the past 4 years by the very people I held dearest to me. My friends lied to me, you lied to me. At the rivercourt I just had a momentary lapse of sanity but I'm seeing things clearer now. So I'll tell you what I told them. I'll act like everything is ok but it isn't. I'll hang out and talk to you all because it's the holiday season and we're here on vacation, things are suppose to be happy and fun. But don't for a second think that any of you are forgiven, especially you. It might eventually happen but as of now, none of you are forgiven and none of you can be trusted." There was a moment of silence between the two before Lucas spoke up.

"Fine. If that's how you want things then fine. Fine." Lucas said, no emotion showing in his voice before walking back into the cafe.

Peyton stood outside alone. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a picture. She looked at it and thought about how this one picture changed her mind so much. She was so set on forgiving everyone until she looked at this picture. It was of her and Lucas the night of graduation. There was a huge graduation party that they all went to. They played Peyton's favorite song and Lucas asked her to dance. While dancing, the subject of college came up. Lucas told her that he wanted her to follow her dreams. She told him she wanted to be wherever he was. He told her that she'll always be where he was because she'd always be in his heart.

**_FLASHBACK_**

_"You've always been the one waiting for me. It's my turn to wait for you. I'll wait forever if I have to." Peyton looked up at him a bit shocked._

_"How did you..." She trailed off._

_"I didn't hear everything but I heard some thngs,that being one of them. I thought it was a dream but when my mom told me you went to visit me, I knew it wasn't. Look, I know being apart and having a long distance relationship is going to be hard but I know it will all work out in the end."_

_"I don't want to lose you Luke."_

_"You won't. You know why? Because you're it for me. You're the one Peyton. One day I'm going to marry you. I know it. We've been through so much already and we made it, we're together. Just like it was meant to be." A single tear fell down Peyton's cheek. Lucas wiped it away with his thumb before bringing his lips to hers. They heard a the click of a camera and broke apart. They looked in the direction it came from to find a smiling Brooke with a camera in one hand and a picture in the other._

_"That's definitly one for the books." She said. She looked at the picture and smiled._

_"Here." She said handing the photo over to Peyton. "You keep it. Put it in the Lucas box" She said before walking off._

_"You have a Lucas box?" Lucas asked as they started dancing again._

_"Yeah, I figured since you had a Peyton box I should have a Lucas box. Mine has a different purpose though."_

_"You know I didn't mean what I told Brooke. Not completely atleast. It was to help me remember how I messed up but not with Brooke, with you. I guess it was a way to torture myself 'cause I knew I wouldn't get you back. That's why I went after Brooke. Plus, you had Jake and you both seemed so in love."_

_"I thought we were but we weren't. Atleast I wasn't. I couldn't let him into my heart when you were still there." Lucas smiled and gave Peyton a peck on the lips. He looked at her hand and took the picture out of it._

_"So, what are you going to do with this?"_

_"I don't know. Frame it maybe."_

_"You know what? I think you should keep it in your car."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because everytime you go for a drive you'll have a picture of us with you. Plus, it'll remind you that no matter what happens, I'll be with and there for you and we'll be together in the end." Peyton smiled and nodded her head before placing the picture in her bag_.

**_END FLASHBACK_**

_'It's funny how a single picture or memory can change things so drastically.'_ Peyton thought. This one picture changed her mind about forgiving everyone in an instant. To someone else it might not seem like such a big deal but to Peyton, this picture meant everything. That night was the night she decided that she was going to go wherever Lucas was. Not only that, but it was the night she realized Lucas was the one for her.

That night was the best night of her life. She felt like she had everything. She felt that her future was set. She didn't know it would be ruined only weeks later.

Peyton still couldn't help but think that she still could've had that life if she knew Lucas was awake. If her friends would've only told her when he woke up maybe things would be different. Just thinking about it got her upset. 'How could I ever even consider forgiving them so fast.' She thought. 'They lied to me for nearly 4 years. My life could've been better. I could've been happy. No, I am happy. I think.' She was so confused. Before she found out about Lucas she was happy. Atleast she thought she was. Now all she can think about is what she missed out on. Now, she feels like nothings right and she's mad at her friends for it. Atleast, that's what she tells herself. It's easier than admitting the truth.

* * *

Lucas walked in and over to the group with a fake smile on his face.

"Hey guys." He greeted.

"Hey." They all said. Lucas looked to Lauren and Michael.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Lucas." He said, extending his hand.

"I'm Michael. Peyton's boyfriend." Michael said, shaking Lucas' hand.

"I'm Lauren." Lauren said, shaking Lucas' hand as well.

"Well it's nice to meet you both." Lucas said as he sat down. "Peyton told me to tell you all that she'll be in a minute. She just needed some air." Lucas said.

"Is everything ok with her?" Michael asked, worriedly.

"Oh yeah. She's fine. So, did you guys order?"

"No. We were waiting for you and Peyton." Haley said.

"Oh, well we can wait for Peyton. So, where are the kids?"

"With your mom. She said she'll bring them by later." Nathan said.

"Right."

"You know, I think I'll go check on Peyton. She's just been standing there for a few minutes. I'm gonna make sure she's ok." Michael said as he rose from his seat and began walking away.

* * *

Peyton's thoughts were interrupted by Michael.

"Hey babe, you ok?" He asked softly. Peyton quickly stuck the photo into her pocket before answering.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure?" Peyton put on a fake smile and said "Positive. Now let's get inside, I'm starved."

"Ok." Michael said disbelievingly before following her back inside.

The two walked over to the table and sat down.

"Is everything ok?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah. Everything's good."

"Good 'cause I'm starved. Let's order."

The waitress came over and took their orders. They sat and talked as they waited for their food.

"So Lucas,we haven't really heard much about you. Actually, we've heard nothing about you. Peyton never mentioned you." Lauren said.

"Well that's probably because it was too hard for her to. You see, I was in an accident a few years back and I was in a coma for a little over a year."

"Oh my God, are you serious?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah. It didn't look good. It looked really bad actually. Peyton was there for the first year but then left to fulfill her dreams. It must've been hard for her to talk about me so she didn't. Things got better for me over the next few months. Then, one day, I woke up. I figure Peyton didn't tell you about me because not only did it hurt but, she didn't know I was awake until she saw me at the club."

"That explains the faint. Why didn't you tell her?" Michael asked.

"Well, I wanted to surprise her. I guess it worked."

"I'll say." Lauren said. They all shared a laugh, Peyton only smiled.

"So Lucas, tell us about yourself." Michael said.

"Well what do you want to know?"

"How about...what do you do?"

"Well I..." He began to say but was interrupted by the waitress bringing them their food. Once they all had their food the attention was taken off of Lucas, which he was thankful for. They all engaged in different conversations amongst themselves whilst they ate. Lucas looked over to Peyton. It would seem to anyone else that everything was ok, but Lucas knew better. So did Brooke,Haley,Nathan and Jake. They all knew she was pretending. They could tell by the look in her eyes that nothing was ok.

* * *

**_There it is. Chapter 10. I didn't even see that coming. I just wrote it down and when I read it I was shocked. lol. I know it may seem a little unreal that one little thing changed her mind but I think it was more unreal that she considered forgiving them so easily. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and you keep on reaidng this story. I enjoy reading your reviews and I hope you all continue to R&R. _**

**_Thx for Reading!!_**


	11. Forgetting

_OMG, that couldn't be...could it? No way. NO way. NO FRIGGIN WAY!! That's an UD Gasp lol._

_No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. I have UD'ed this story. After like, 4 months, I finally UD'ed it. I've had this chapter written since like, June, but I was too lazy to type it. I was bored and on this site reading other ff when I decided I should UD this since I had it written and I remembered and had the time. I just want to say I am very very very very very very very very sorry for the loooooooooooooong wait. I don't know when the next UD will be because I have writers block for this story. I was lucky to get this chapter out. Ok so, once again, so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for the looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong wait. I will try to get over this writers block and write the next chapter as soon as I can. I hope you enjoy this chpater. _

* * *

"Peyton, come on or we'll be late."

"I'll be right down." Peyton yelled down to Michael. It was Friday night and they had dinner plans with Nathan, Haley, Jake, Brooke, John, Lauren, Skills, Bevin, Mouth and Rachel.

Over the past few days Peyton had come to be civil towards them. She wasn't just acting anymore. Though they weren't forgiven, she didn't ignore them or only act like everything was okay anymore. It was a relief for Peyton to let some of the anger go. Though she was still upset and they weren't forgiven, the more she thought about it the more she started to understand. Still, she couldn't let it go. Not yet any ways.

"Peyton, come on!" Michael called from downstairs.

"I'm coming." Peyton walked down stairs and was met by Michael at the bottom.

"Wow. You look.Amazing."

"Why thank you. You don't look half bad yourself."

"Thanks. Alright, let's get going."

"So, what's the name of this place we're going to?" Peyton asked as they walked to the car.

"You should know. You lived here."

"It's new."

"Oh. Well I don't remember what it's called. I only have the directions." Michael said as he opened the car door for Peyton.

"Thank you." She said as she got in. Michael then closed the door, got into the drivers side and drove off.

* * *

The bells chimed as the door to the cafe opened. Karen looked over to see who came in and smiled at the person.

"My my my, don't we look handsome."

"Yes we do." Lucas said smiling before walking over to his mother and giving her a hug.

"So what's the occasion? Hot date?"

"Nope. I'm actually a chaperone at the high school's Christmas dance."

"Well that doesn't mean you can't have a date."

"Mom." Lucas groaned.

"Ok, ok. I get it. I'll stop."

"Thank you. So where is everyone tonight?"

"I think they all went to dinner."

"Oh." Lucas said sadly. For the past few days it seemed like he was being excluded from everything. Every time the group invited him somewhere he'd make up an excuse not to go because Peyton would be there. After a while they just stopped inviting him. Though it was his own doing, it still hurt a little. He kept himself busy with work and watching the kids. John tried to get him to hang out with him, but Lucas didn't want to do anything. What Peyton had said to him that morning before breakfast had hurt him more than he thought.

"You know Lucas, they would've invited you but."

"I know." Lucas cut her off. "It's ok. Well, I should get going. I'll see you tomorrow ma."

"Ok. See you tomorrow sweetie. Have fun!" She said to him as he walked out the door.

She watched him get into his car and drive away. She didn't know how to help him and it hurt her to see him acting like everything was fine while knowing it wasn't. All she could do was watch and hope that things would work out for him in the end.

* * *

"Good, you guys made it. We were starting to think you wouldn't show."

"Sorry we're late. Peyton likes to take her time getting ready."

"Don't we know." Nathan said. They all shared a laugh as Peyton and Michael sat down.

"This is a nice place. What's it called?" Peyton asked.

"A restaurant." Jake said, jokingly.

"Ha ha. I meant the name of the restaurant smart ass."

"Didn't you see the big sign on the building before you came in?" Brooke asked.

"We were in a hurry. I only remember seeing an L and a Y."

"It's called Leyton." Haley said.

Peyton instantly froze. She knew what it meant as soon as she heard it. Brooke used to call them that all the time. Though she acted like she hated it, she rather liked it. Now, she was in a restaurant that was named it. That could only mean one thing. _'But it couldn't be' she thought. 'Could it? There's only one way to find out.'_

"Leyton. That's uh, that's not very original. What was it named after? If it was named after anything or...anyone." Peyton asked, trying not to sound too interested.

"Why don't you ask the owner. He's coming this way now." Brooke said, looking past Peyton.

"Well if it isn't my favorite customers."

**Peyton P.O.V.**

"Well if it isn't my favorite customers." I heard him say from behind me. I haven't seen or talked to him since he left after breakfast on Sunday. I was thankful for that. I wasn't ready to talk to him yet. And now, here he was, walking up behind me. Just the sound of his voice was enough to make my heart skip a beat, a feeling I haven't felt in 4 years, not even with Michael.

"Well if it isn't our favorite restaurant owner." Haley said smiling at him.

"And he's looking very sharp too. What's the occasion?" Brooke asked. I watched him come from behind me and walk over to Brooke. He gave her a hug and then gave Haley one. As he pulled away he looked over to me. Our eyes met for just a second before I quickly looked away.

"So what's the occasion?" He asked.

"Nothing. It's just dinner. We would've invited you but it looks like you've got plans." Haley said.

"Yeah I do. I'm chaperoning at the High School Christmas dance" '_High School Christmas dance? Chaperoning? Is that how he spends his free time?'_ I thought.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that was tonight. Do you have a date?" Nate asked. My heart started beating a bit faster as I waited to hear his response. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw him look at me before answering.

"Um, no. I'm gonna go stag." I suddenly let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Well that's alright man. I'm sure you'll have fun." Nate said.

"Yeah. Well, I should get going or I'll be late. You all have fun and dinner is on me. No arguments." He said as Nathan was about to argue against his offer. He smiled and it made my heart skip a beat. He said bye and started walking away. I don't know what came over me but I just couldn't let him go without saying anything to him. Before I knew what I was doing, I was calling out his name. Immediately he stopped and turned around slowly. Once he was facing me I said "You look nice." He was silent for a few seconds. It looked as though he was trying to figure out if I really said something to him. Then, he smiled and said "So do you". He then turned around and continued walking away. I turned back towards the table and looked around at the rest of the group. They all had shocked expressions on their faces, with the exception of Michael and Lauren who didn't know all the details of our past. I couldn't blame them for being shocked though. Hell, I was too. However, it did feel good to talk to him. Even if it was just a simple compliment, it meant a lot to me, even though I didn't want to admit it.

**Lucas P.O.V.**

I couldn't help but smile as I continued to walk away. _'Did that really just happen?'_ I asked myself. Not only had Peyton acknowledged me, but she gave me a compliment as well. Maybe she's finally started to calm down.' I thought. Whatever it was that got her to talk to me it didn't matter. As long as she was talking to me.

* * *

They were all finished with their dinner and had been sitting at the table talking for the past half hour. Haley took a look at the clock and saw it was 10:30.

"Oh, wow, we lost track of time. We were suppose to pick the kids up a half hour ago."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. I guess we were having too much of a good time." Nathan said. "We better go."

"Yeah. We'll see you guys tomorrow for lunch." Haley said as she and Nathan stood up. The two said their goodbyes to the rest of the group and left.

"You know, it is getting kind of late. We should get going ourselves." Jake said. "You ready Brooke?" He turned to his wife who was just staring off into space. "Hellooooo. Earth to Brooke" Jake said as he waved a hand in front of her. Still nothing.

"Let me try." Rachel said, smirking. "Hey bitch, I slept with your husband last night."

"In your dreams skank." Brooke said looking towards Rachel.

"I knew that would work" Rachel said leaning back into her chair.

"What's on your mind babe?" Jake asked, concerned.

"It's just, I feel bad. About Lucas. He's all alone at that dance and we're here having a good time without him. We haven't hung out with him in like a week. I know he didn't really want to do anything but we shouldn't have given up on asking."

"I know what you mean. Did you see the look in his eyes when he asked what was going on and Haley just kinda brushed it off by saying we didn't invite him because he had plans? He looked hurt. I feel a little guilty." Mouth said.

"Me too." Jake said.

"What makes it worse is that he's all alone at the dance and has to stay there for another hour and a half. I'd go and keep him company but I have an early day tomorrow." Brooke said.

"What do you..." Jake trailed off noticing the look on Brooke's face and realizing what she was doing.

"Oh right. So do I. I forgot."

"I've got to get up early tomorrow too." Mouth said, understanding what was going on.

"Same here." John said.

"I don't know him so I think that would be kind of awkward." Lauren said.

"We're going to see my folks tomorrow morning so we can't go." Skills said for him and Bevin.

Rachel looked around the table confused. She didn't get why or when they all got plans for the morning so she decided she could hang with Lucas tonight. "I'll go." She said. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her side. "Owww!!" She yelped as she turned towards Mouth who looked at her trying to hint what they were doing without alerting Peyton. She quickly understood and mouthed oh' before turning in her seat.

"I mean, Ow, man, I can't! I've got stuff to do in the morning that I just remembered. Gotta go to sleep early. Can't go, sorry." Brooke looked at her with an expression that said 'Nice going dumb ass.'

"Well what are you doing tomorrow Peyton?" Lauren asked.

"Me? Oh no, I-I can't."

"Why not? You're the only one left who isn't busy as far as I know and who knows Lucas well enough to go." Lauren said.

"Yeah, why not? You haven't really hung out with him since last Sunday and even then you two hardly spoke." Brooke said, knowing full well why she didn't want to go.

"I-I can't. I mean, what about Michael?"

"I'm sure he won't mind, right Michael?"

"Um, no. Of course not. Go ahead. He's your friend. Go uh...go spend some uh, some time with him." Michael said. He didn't know their history but he could sense there was something between the two. He didn't know what it was but he figured it was nothing to worry about so he let it go.

"Ok, I guess. Um, Do you think one of you could give him a ride?"

"I can. I've got to drop off Lauren anyways." John said.

"Oh, okay. Well then um, I uh...uh, I guess I'll just go now. To the High School. To see Lucas. Yeah." She stood up and Michael gave her the keys to her car and a kiss on the lips. She said her goodbyes to the group and turned and walked away. The rest of the group, with the exception of Michael and Lauren who were watching Peyton walk away, looked at each other with mischievous grins on their faces.

* * *

She walked into the gym and smiled. She hadn't been in here in years. It looked exactly the same, with the exception of the Christmas decorations. Her smile quickly faded as she remembered why she was here. "I could've just went to the River court or something. Why'd I come? Peyton why are you here?" She asked herself. She quickly looked around for Lucas but didn't see him. _'Well, looks like he's not here. Oh well. I tried.'_ She thought before turning around. She started walking away when she heard his all too familiar voice calling her name. _'Damn, almost made it.'_ She slowly turned around and was immediately greeted with those piercing blue eyes she so desperately had been trying to avoid. He walked up to her, never breaking eye contact, and stopped in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. She didn't reply. She stood staring into those blue eyes as if she was in a trance.

"Helloooo. Peyton." He said as he waved a hand in front of her face. She blinked a few times before looking away, mumbling a sorry.

"That's ok. So, what are you doing here?" He asked. She looked back up at him and answered while trying to avoid looking into his eyes.

"Well everyone felt bad about not inviting you to dinner so they thought one of us should come keep you company. It seemed I was the only one that didn't have to get up early tomorrow morning so they voted for me to come. It's rather suspicious actually. They are all on vacation and yet they have to get up early."

"Well, it seems you were tricked into coming."

"Yeah it does."

"Probably a part of their plan to get us talking."

"Yup. I had a feeling that's what it was."

"And you still came?"

"Yeah." Peyton said, putting her head down to avoid his gaze.

"Why?" He asked. She looked back up at him and into his eyes.

"I don't know." The two stayed staring into each others eyes for a few seconds before Peyton looked away.

"You know, maybe this was a bad idea. I should go." She said and turned around.

"No, wait." Lucas said, stepping in front of her. "Don't go. There's only an hour and 15 minutes left of the dance. I could really use the company. We don't have to dance or anything. We could just talk. Or not it doesn't matter just...stay. Please?" She thought it over for a few seconds before saying ok' and giving Lucas a small smile.

"Really?" Lucas asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I'll stay."

"Great." Lucas said smiling. "So, um, would you like some punch?" He asked her.

"Sure. I'd love some."

"Alright. I'll be right back."

2 minutes later Lucas was back with the drinks. He handed one to Peyton who smiled and thanked him. They stood in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Both wanted to say something but neither had the courage. Finally, Peyton got sick of the silence and spoke.

"So...you, own a restaurant." Way to point out the obvious Peyton.' She thought.

"Uh, yeah. I do."

"It's really nice. The foods great."

"Thanks. Andy keeps trying to get me to branch out but I'm not sure."

"Why not? That place is awesome. The foods great, the waiters are great and it's a really gorgeous place. I loved the paintings on the walls."

"I got those from an art gallery in Raleigh."

"They're really beautiful. You should really do it. Branch out I mean."

"I'll tell you what, I'll think about it. Ok?"

"Ok. So, other than manage your restaurant, what do you do?"

"Well, I own a book store as well as teach 4th grade English and coach the Elementary boys basketball team and manage Tric every now and then to help out my mom."

"Wow. You do a lot."

"Not really. It sounds like a lot but it really isn't. I actually have a lot of free time. I coach in basketball season and I have people to manage the bookstore and restaurant. My mom does well managing Tric without me and I'm only teaching on weekdays during the school year. I have the Summer and Holidays off so really, I have nothing to do. What about you?"

"What about me what?"

"Well, what is it that you do?"

"I work at an art gallery."

"Big surprise there." Lucas said sarcastically. Peyton smiled at him and said "Yeah."

"Well that was always your dream. To go to an art school on New York and work in an art gallery. Also, to open up your own gallery and show off your art work and the work of talented young artists." Peyton looked at him a bit shocked.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked when he noticed her shocked expression.

"Nothing, it's just...I didn't think you remembered."

"Of course I did." Lucas said, bowing his head. "I remember everything you told me." Peyton didn't know what to say so she just stood there in silence. They both stood there in silence for a few minutes before Lucas decided to break it.

"So it looks like John and your friend Lauren are getting along well."

"Yeah, they are. He seems like a good guy."

"He is. So, tell me something."

"Tell you what?"

"Anything. Everything. It's been a long time Peyton. We've changed. I want to know who you are now and how things were in college. Tell me everything."

"Ok, well..." For the next hour they talked about Peyton's life in college and her job as well as Lucas' job and his siblings. He told her stories of when he first baby sat and changed a diaper. They were laughing and getting along just like they used to. The night was winding down and it was almost time to go. Peyton was laughing as Lucas told her the story of one of the times he was watching the twins.

"So then I had to go give them a bath since they got all their food on them. So they're in the bath tub splashing around. My shirt is getting soaked, there's water on the floor and neither of them would stay still while I washed them. So, I finally got them washed and I took them out. The bath water was going down but there was still some in there. I stand up and the boys start running out of the bathroom. I left the door open so I could hear if the phone rang. So, I go to run after them, completely forgetting the bathroom floor is wet, and I slipped and fell into the tub getting whatever part of my body that wasn't already wet, wet."

"No." Peyton said, smiling.

"Yes, and when I looked towards the door I saw Nathan and Haley holding Jeff and Joe trying not to laugh. So, Nathan asks if I'm ok, tripping over his words because he's trying not to laugh, and I just nod. So I try to get up and I do. As soon as I'm up I take one step forward and I'm down again. This time they can't contain their laughter and they all just burst out laughing." Peyton fell into a fit of laughter as the story ended. Lucas smiled and chuckled a bit. The laughing slowed down into a chuckle as Peyton said "Wow. That's great. Classic Lucas. I guess that means you're still clumsy as ever."

"Hey, I was never clumsy."

"Oh yes you were."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Lucas said, smiling. Peyton smiled back and the two sat looking into each others eyes. The contact was broken by Peyton who looked away. Lucas was about to say something when the DJ announced that it was time for the last dance. A second later Far Away by Nickelback was beginning to play.

"Look, Peyton, I know I said we didn't have to dance but, do you think you could honor me with one any ways?" Lucas asked Peyton while standing up. He extended his hand for her to take and she took it.

"I'd love to." She said, standing up. As they made their way to the dance floor the lyrics began to come in.

**This time, ****This place **

**Misused, ****Mistakes **

**Too long, Too late**

** Who was I to make you wait**

They began to dance, neither looking in the others eyes.

**Just one chance **

**Just one breath **

**Just in case there's just one left **

**'Cause you know, you know, you know**

She looked up at him and was met by those piercing blue eyes of his. He smiled at her and she smiled back before resting her head on his shoulder.

**That I love you **

**I have loved you all along**

** And I miss you **

**Been far away for far too long**

** I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go **

**Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore**

"I'm glad you came tonight Peyton." He whispered in her ear.

"So am I."

**On my knees, I'll ask Last chance for one last dance**

** 'Cause with you, I'd withstand All of hell to hold your hand**

"You know, I am sorry about not telling you and."

"No. Don't worry about it. It's in the past. I'm not saying I forgive you but, I won't ignore you anymore or avoid you. Though I can't forgive yet I can at least forget. For now anyways." She said looking at him.

"I don't want you to forget. Besides, a part of forgetting is forgiving. I just, want us to be cool. Tonight reminded me of how it used to be when we were friends. I miss that. I just.I want us to be cool. Friends again. Please."

I'd give it all I'd give for us Give anything but I won't give up 'Cause you know,  
you know, you know

"Ok. Friends."

**That I love you**

**I have loved you all along **

**And I miss you **

**Been far away for far too long **

**I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go **

**Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore**

"Thank you."

**So far away **

**Been far away for far too long **

**So far away **

**Been far away for far too long **

**But you know, you know, you know**

**I wanted **

**I wanted you to stay **

**'Cause I needed I need to hear you say**

They looked into each others eyes, neither daring to break contact.

**That I love you **

**I have loved you all along **

**And I forgive you **

**For being away for far too** long

They both started to move their lips closer to the others.

**So keep breathing**

**'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore**

Their lips got closer and closer until...

**Believe it **

**Hold on to me and, never let me go**

...They met. It was as if Everything around them stopped. It was only them on the dance floor. No one else.

**Keep breathing**

**'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore **

**Believe it **

**Hold on to me and, never let me go**

But as quick as the feeling came it left. Peyton quickly pulled away and took a step back. "I'm sorry." She said.

"Don't be. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

"You know, I should be going. It's late." Peyton said, looking to the floor.

"I can drive you home if you want."

"No, that's ok. I brought my car. I'll umm, I'll see you around." She said without looking at him She quickly turned and left the dance floor.

**Keep breathing **

**Hold on to me and, never let me go **

**Keep breathing**

Lucas stood in the middle of the floor watching as Peyton left the gym, not taking his eyes off of her until she disappeared behind the gym doors. Even then he just stared at the doors hoping she'd come back in and knowing she wouldn't.

**Hold on to me and, never let me go**


	12. AN

Hey! Ok so, yes, I'm going to finish this story. I've had writers block for it and then I just got detached and wasn't really feeling it but I know it has to be finished and I'm going to finish it. I'm working on some new chapters now but I'm not gonna post them until I have atleast four updates complete so I don't leave you all hanging for months again. I know what it's like to read a fic your really into and then have it stopped for such a long time and I'm sorry that that's what I've done here. As I said, I'm working on new UDs for y'all and hope fully will have something up soon. Sorry for the long wait and thanks for reading!


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